This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/feb/27/tony-abbott-defends-time-as-prime-minister-i-would-have-won-election
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Tony Abbott defends time as prime minister: 'I would have won election' | Tony Abbott defends time as prime minister: 'I would have won election' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Tony Abbott has launched a defence of his prime ministership, saying he would have won the federal election with budget cuts and lower taxes. | |
| Related: Tony Abbott and other Liberals took Rolexes they thought were fake | Related: Tony Abbott and other Liberals took Rolexes they thought were fake |
| “The poll-measured unpopularity of the Abbott government was not due to any shirking of responsibility but to our determination to do our duty by getting our own spending under control,” Abbott says in a forthcoming essay obtained by the Australian. | “The poll-measured unpopularity of the Abbott government was not due to any shirking of responsibility but to our determination to do our duty by getting our own spending under control,” Abbott says in a forthcoming essay obtained by the Australian. |
| The former prime minister has also issued a warning for Malcolm Turnbull saying his successor’s biggest challenge will be to retain popularity once he has a credible narrative of his own. | The former prime minister has also issued a warning for Malcolm Turnbull saying his successor’s biggest challenge will be to retain popularity once he has a credible narrative of his own. |
| Abbott said he wore his unpopular 2014 budget as a badge of honour and the problem was less that it was tough but more that it failed to pass the parliament. | Abbott said he wore his unpopular 2014 budget as a badge of honour and the problem was less that it was tough but more that it failed to pass the parliament. |
| “Indeed, one of the strongest endorsements of the Abbott government’s economic policy has been Malcolm Turnbull’s pledge to maintain it,” he said. | “Indeed, one of the strongest endorsements of the Abbott government’s economic policy has been Malcolm Turnbull’s pledge to maintain it,” he said. |
| Abbott was careful not to take a direct swipe at Turnbull but issued a critique of senior Liberals for the “very well-organised” September 2015 spill “who didn’t want the Abbott government to succeed”. | Abbott was careful not to take a direct swipe at Turnbull but issued a critique of senior Liberals for the “very well-organised” September 2015 spill “who didn’t want the Abbott government to succeed”. |