By KATHRYN BERMINGHAM AND DANNY BUTTLER
THIS week’s stunning events in Canberra may have saved Jason Wood from defeat at the next Federal Election.
Respected political commentator Nick Economou said the Member for La Trobe would probably have lost his seat if Tony Abbott led the Liberal Party to the next election instead of new Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Mr Wood has confirmed that he voted for Malcolm Turnbull in Monday night’s party room ballot after losing faith in the communication skills of Tony Abbott.
Member for McMillan Russell Broadbent voted for Mr Abbott, despite a long-term friendship with Mr Turnbull.
“I would have thought with Abbott as leader, Wood would probably have lost La Trobe,” Mr Economou said.
The Monash University political scientist said Mr Wood was closer to the former Prime Minister in ideology, but knew the writing was on the wall if nothing changed.
“That’s self-interest over ideology. He has abandoned Abbott because he fears for his seat,” he said.
The La Trobe MP said on Tuesday morning that he had held reservations about Mr Abbott’s leadership for some time, voicing his concerns with the office of the Prime Minister in February.
“Unfortunately under Abbott we couldn’t get our messages out there about why he needed to make some tough decisions,” Mr Wood said.
“I let the office of the PM know at the last spill that there were major communication issues. By the end he just couldn’t get the message through.”
Mr Wood has thrown his support behind Mr Turnbull after the ousting, stating that he has been “inundated with messages of support from the business community.”
“Malcolm’s very strong with business policy and that’s a great thing for business in this electorate,“ he said.
Mr Broadbent, who described the atmosphere in Canberra on Monday night as “electric“, said he was disappointed that Mr Abbott had been deposed in his first term in office.
The Member for McMillan said he always voted for the incumbent in leadership spills, believing that only exceptional circumstances called for a change of prime minister.
“You don’t change a nation’s leader lightly. When you change a leader you change a nation,” he said.
“I thought he led a good government.“
Mr Broadbent did not rule out a position in the Turnbull ministry, but thought others might be chosen ahead of him.
“That’s really up to Malcolm Turnbull and his team, but he will need to reward those who supported him.”
