Scott Morrison to replace Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull

International Desk: Former treasurer Scott Morrison looks set to become Australia's sixth prime minister in just over ten years, following a leadership vote on Friday which ended a week of chaos in the country's capital.

A member of the ruling Liberal party's conservative faction and former immigration minister, Morrison defeated former home affairs minister Peter Dutton by 45 votes to 40 at a closed door leadership vote shortly after midday, local time, the party's whip Nola Marino announced.

Marino added minister for the Environment and Energy, Josh Frydenberg, had been elected as deputy leader.

It followed days of speculation and confusion over whether now former leader Malcolm Turnbull could maintain his grip on the premiership in the face of a conservative uprising.

The leadership crisis began on Tuesday following a backlash in the Liberal Party over Turnbull's climate change policy, which would have legislated the Paris Agreement goals.

The right-wing of the party would prefer greater investment in the country's coal sector and policies to lower Australians' power prices.

Dutton, a leader in the party's conservative faction, stood against Turnbull for the leadership in a vote on Tuesday, losing only narrowly by 48 votes to 35 and all but guaranteeing a second vote.

But as Dutton's momentum began to grow, Morrison put his hand up for the leadership in the face of questions over Dutton's eligibility to sit in parliament.

Morrison's election to the top of the Liberal Party is just the latest in a revolving door of leadership changes in the Australian capital in the past decade.

Since 2007, no Australia prime minister has faced two consecutive elections.

Turnbull said on Thursday he would step down and leave the parliament following the vote, potentially cracking the government's slender one-seat majority and leading to a byelection or even a general election.

A self-proclaimed political moderate, Turnbull was always an uncomfortable fit within the right-of-center Liberal Party. He has been a longtime advocate for progressive social policies and action on climate change.

Morrison was seen as a compromise candidate between Turnbull and Dutton -- a political conservative but more electable than the unpopular alternative. Australia is due to have a federal election by May 2019 at the latest.

A committed Christian and at times controversial figure in Australia, Morrison was an enthusiastic advocate for the country's strict border protection regime during his time as immigration minister.

Agencies


risingbd/Dhaka/Aug 2018/Nasim