CANBERRA, Australia (AP) – Australia’s beleaguered Prime Minister Tony Abbott could face a second challenge to his position this year, after a senior minister on Monday called on Abbott to allow a vote on his party leadership.
Former Liberal Party leader and Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he asked the prime minister to open the party’s leadership to an internal vote, as the two-year-old conservative coalition government struggles in opinion polls.
The contest would pit a man who has been described as one of the most socially conservative Australian prime ministers in decades against a challenger viewed with suspicion by some who think he is not conservative enough.
Unlike Abbott, Turnbull supports gay marriage, wants Australia to replace the British monarch with an Australian president as head of state, and backs a policy of making polluters pay for their carbon gas emissions.
It was not immediately clear if Abbott will agree to a vote, but he is under intense pressure to prove he has the support of his colleagues.