Liberal leadership are chaniging 15/9/2015

 God be with you always

The latest, and presumably last of these has been to keep Abbott under wraps after his removal. Whether it is Abbott's thinking alone is not known but more than 14 hours after being replaced decisively in the party room vote by Malcolm Turnbull, 54 votes to 44, Abbott is yet to publicly concede.

Will Tony Abbott quit Parliament or retire to the backbench in dignified silence. Or will be cause problems for Malcom Turnbull? Photo: Alex Ellinghausen

This non-appearance arises from yet another non-decision, characteristic of his government's mostly hollow presentation as little more than a non-Labor government.

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It suggests an absence of style and grace in defeat which not only reflects poorly on the Abbott operation, but seems at odds with Abbott's own front-on style.
As one observer noted caustically, "they got all of their calls wrong in their time in office so it should not be that surprising that they still can't get it right".

As outgoing PM, Mr Abbott, pictured departing Monday night's party room meeting, has an obligation to address the people for whom he served. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen

Too true. Abbott's departure should be marked by the dignity of a statesman-like exit, not a sullen vacuum. Just before midday on Tuesday, #WhereIsTony was the top trending hashtag on Twitter in Australia.
Politics is a bruising, unforgiving business, requiring all (and more) of the individuals tough enough to climb to the top. It is entirely understandable that Abbott and his dedicated team are feeling the pain and grief of rejection.
But
RFA Karen Language TV for September 1st Week Abbott has always been the quintessential Liberal loyalist. As the outgoing prime minister, his last obligation is to explain his position, to address the people for whom he served, and publicly acknowledge the gravity of events that have seen him forced to surrender his commission.
Beyond that, the pre-eminent question hanging over the new Turnbull administration, given what the nation went through when Kevin Rudd white-anted Julia Gillard post-coup, is what will Abbott do now?
Will he quit Parliament causing a byelection or retire to the backbench to see out this term in dignified silence? Or will he cause problems for those he no doubt sees as having betrayed him?
Then there are the Abbott supporters - mostly on the party's conservative right wing.
Insiders say the conservatives are now split. There are those who are conservative in ideology and yet economy-minded, determinedly pluralist, and even progressive on some issues. These are "traditional" Liberals in the Menzian vein.
Then there are the authoritarian reactionaries - a new and uncompromising form of evangelical Christians with a Tea Party-style dedication to political combat and a loathing for moderate liberal permissiveness.
For these hardliners, the Liberal Party brand has only ever been a vehicle, a means to a conservative end. They hate no-one more than those whom they see as the dissemblers and soft liberals within their own ranks.
For now, they have been set back. But in the medium term, they have a new cause, a new enemy personified, and perhaps even, a new martyr.