Today’s face-off briefly widened to a three-way race when Tim Wilson, fresh off reclaiming the Melbourne seat of Goldstein from teal Zoe Daniel, said he was considering going for the vacant leader’s job, after Dutton lost his own outer Brisbane seat in Labor’s landslide win.
Wilson (pictured) said he had been approached by party colleagues, including former Liberal MP Jason Falinski, who praised Wilson’s strong campaigning skills in the Australian Financial Review on Sunday.
But last night Wilson withdrew from the race, issuing a call for unity.
“Nationally, I have the firm belief that we can win in three years. Not six. Three,” he wrote on Facebook.
“I won’t be a candidate for leader tomorrow – it’s not my time.
“But I will be giving all my energies to whoever wins, to replicate what we did in Goldstein across our party.”
