There is more than one faction in the Liberal Party that can cause trouble for Malcolm Turnbull

The Owl gas got some sympathy for Malcolm Turnbull. It's a difficult job leading a government with a majority of one. Every backbench Tom, Dick and Harriet thinks they have the power of the blackmailer. Huff and puff and threaten to quit, or back someone else to replace you, unless they get their own way on some pet project or other. The threat is constant and the Prime Minister knows it.
In recent times the huffing and puffing has come from some Liberal, and mainly National Party, MPs terrified by the thought they might lose their parliamentary seat next time around to a resurgent One Nation Party. The red haired leader has all those outside the major capital cities terrified. The initial response of the electorally challenged is to pressure PM Turnbull to take policy positions that anything Pauline Hanson can do we can do tougher.
Gleefully encouraging this nervousness is Tony Abbott - the man Turnbull replaced in a leadership coup. The former Prime Minister relishes contrasting himself as a proper hard-line conservative fighting the good fight against a wish-washy small "l" liberal.
The Parliament House based media and the talking heads of radio and television, especially that strange crew on Sky who don't actually have an audience apart from that Parliament House lot who take them seriously, just love it. And the Prime Minister feels obliged to react.
Which The Owl thinks is a mistake. For those small 'l" lot are beginning to get irritated. They are getting sick of Turnbull caving in to the bully boys on things like the mistreatment of asylum seekers on Manus Island and Nauru. The day is not far away when the other part of the broad Liberal church shows that it too can play the irritant.
Watch for it. It is coming.

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