Senator Troeth, a former party vice-president who has been in Parliament for 14 years, told The Age the Costello-dominated committee’s decision to override Mr Baillieu’s bid to run a candidate in last month’s byelection for the state seat of Albert Park was “simply disgraceful”.
– Victorian Liberal Senator Judith Troeth, reported on page 1 of today’s Age.
Despite John Howard accepting responsibility for last weekend’s result, it cannot all be laid at his feet. Many of the problems the party faced were caused by a weak and subservient organisational wing that lacked the courage to stand up to the parliamentary wing.
– Victorian Liberal Senator Judith Troeth, in her opinion piece published in today’s Age.
Andrew Norton 
Meh. “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds”, Ralph Waldo Emerson.
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McCallum’s “Le Parti, C’est Moi” (in last month’s Monthly) exposes the fact that while the Liberals might have the idea in their heads that theirs is a party that values the contribution of all members, it is the front-benchers who make policy and the strong Prime Minister that keeps the team together. One need only look at how the party falls apart once the strong PM is gone; Menzies, Fraser, Howard, the Liberals end up in chaotic leadership battles and it’s only with the emergence of a new hard-headed leader that they are able to regroup.
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The senator is right Andrew. The Kroger/ Costello faction turned me off after what they did to Prodos that it became part of the reason I joined the LDP. Thos two have ruined the state operation for a decade.
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JC – I don’t disagree that the Kroger/Costello faction is a problem (though many of my friends are aligned with it). It was a major force for good in the 1980s and into the 1990s, helping to modernise the party, but more recently it has just been a jobs-for-the-boys (and girls) operation. Some of its candidates are excellent, but not all. Unfortunately, both sides take a winner-take-all approach.
But I think any sensible party organisation would keep very eccentric people like Prodos in the background.
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I was more amused by Peter Costello on Lateline:
“you ought to get behind them because actually not giving your support or plotting for alternatives is not going to help the Liberal party.”
http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2007/s2106788.htm
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Andrew
Prodos is a little eccentric in terms of his appearance. But the guy is a tireless worker for the cause. He runs seminars, each week, which is open for anyone to attend where, he leads interesting discussions on a range of subjects.
He was also running in the seat of Richmond, which to be quite honest he didn’t have a hope in hell of winning. That seat was not going to be contested at the last election until he put up his hand and offered to represent the Libs as their candidate. They prevented him from doing so by central office finding another candidate. It was never discussed with Prodos and not given reasons. The state parliamentary leader had no problem with Prodos, but the central office seemed to!
I find the reprehensible to be honest.
Meanwhile the guy who has locked up the party administration has been quietly offered a senate seat when it comes along.
This is truly outrageous behavior.
This faction has basically killed off the party in Victoria. Destroyed it.
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It’s worthwhile mentioning that last year (and the year before) the Liberal Party in Victoria debated a motion to introduce proportional representation as the voting system for electing representatives to its Policy Assembly and Administrative Committee (which in essence its day to day management committee).
This would have in effect blocked any one group gaining control of these two bodies, as compared to the current antiquated system.
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