Mathias Cormann (Left), Malcolm Turnbull (Middle) and Scott Morrison (Right). Photo / via Twitter
Mathias Cormann (Left), Malcolm Turnbull (Middle) and Scott Morrison (Right). Photo / via Twitter
Shortly after Malcolm Turnbull lost the Liberal leadership in August of 2018, he received an apologetic text message from a former political ally, Mathias Cormann.
Mr Cormann's decision to defect from Mr Turnbull's camp and support "an orderly transition to a new leader" on the morning of Thursday, August 23 had been seen as the final confirmation that his leadership was untenable.
The Liberal Senate leader told Mr Turnbull the party room had abandoned him. In fact, the numbers later showed the then prime minister would have survived if Mr Cormann had just held firm.
That was the context for a tense exchange of texts between the pair, the details of which are included in Mr Turnbull's upcoming autobiography, A Bigger Picture.
Malcolm Turnball was Prime Minister of Australia during 2015-2018. Photo / via Twitter
"I was not part of any planned conspiracy or insurgency. I genuinely backed you until events developed, sadly, which in my judgment made our position irretrievable. I immediately and honestly advised you directly," Mr Cormann wrote to Mr Turnbull.
"I was genuinely blindsided by the leadership ballot on the Tuesday and events developed rapidly from there.
"All this has been very painful – yes I know first and foremost for you and for that I'm very sorry. But also for me. My wife was genuinely traumatised by it all."
Mr Turnbull was not in a particularly forgiving mood.
"Mathias, at a time when strength and loyalty were called for, you were weak and treacherous. You should be ashamed of yourself, and I well understand how disappointed your wife is in your conduct," he shot back.
Mr Cormann's wife Hayley is a lawyer based in Perth.
The Australian also quotes an extract from Mr Turnbull's book, in which he makes it clear there are still hard feelings.
"Cormann's treachery was the worst and most hurtful. He'd become a trusted friend of mine," he writes.
"I'd always trusted Cormann, ignoring constant warnings that he was an untrustworthy, Machiavellian schemer."
Mr Cormann held multiple private meetings with Mr Turnbull throughout the week of leadership chaos. After the last one, on the Thursday morning, he appeared in the courtyard of parliament alongside fellow senior Liberals Michaelia Cash and Mitch Fifield.
"It's with great sadness and a heavy heart that we went to see the Prime Minister yesterday afternoon to advise him that in our judgment, he no longer enjoyed the support of the majority of members in the Liberal Party party room, and that it was in the best interests of the Liberal Party to help manage an orderly transition to a new leader," a grim Mr Cormann said.
Mathis Cormann is a former political ally of Turnball's. Photo / via Twitter
"I did not want to be in this position. I have loyally supported Malcolm Turnbull since he was elected leader of the Liberal Party. I was wanting to continue to support Malcolm Turnbull for years to come as leader of the Liberal Party. But I can't ignore reality."
Mr Cormann framed it as a mournful decision, praising Mr Turnbull's leadership even as he effectively ended it.
"I believe that Malcolm Turnbull has been and is a great prime minister. I believe that he will go down in history as having secured amazing achievements for Australia," Mr Cormann said.
"There's no question that Malcolm Turnbull's plan for the economy, for jobs in relation to our national security — that we all have been part of implementing — has left the country stronger and in a better position."
At that time, Scott Morrison was not even a candidate for the leadership. Mr Turnbull was instead facing a challenge from Peter Dutton, who needed 43 votes to tear him down.
In the party room meeting the next day, 45 Liberals voted in favour of spilling the leadership, ending Mr Turnbull's tenure as prime minister.
Mr Cormann, Ms Cash and Mr Fifield ended up casting the deciding votes. If they had not withdrawn their support for Mr Turnbull, the spill motion would have been defeated by a single vote, 43-42.
Mr Turnbull has spoken extensively about that week since losing the leadership and retiring from politics, repeatedly naming and shaming the "plotters" who took him down. Mr Cormann is one of the people he most frequently mentions.
"People have got to be adults and be accountable," he told the ABC's Q&A program in late 2018..
"They have to stand up and be prepared to say why they do things, why they vote for things. And so the people who chose to act in what I thought was madness, a very self-destructive way, to blow up the government, to bring my prime ministership to an end, they need to explain why they did it, and none of them have."
In virtually the same breath, Mr Turnbull said he had moved on.
"I'm not miserable or bitter or resentful at all, I'm joyful that I had the opportunity to take on that role and do as much as I did in the time that I had."
The former prime minister's autobiography gives him one last chance to air his grievances. It is due to be published in April.
