Why did Philip Ruddock, a Liberal Party elder and former Howard government minister with 43 years of experience in federal Parliament, get rolled by his party over his position as Hornsby mayor in Sydney?
Crikey can reveal that, according to the mayor himself, the area’s federal Liberal MP Julian Leeser took an active part in undermining Ruddock.
According to some local Liberals, Ruddock’s preselection loss was the culmination of an intraparty “game of thrones” with links to both a local debate over land development and Leeser’s campaigning for the Yes side in the Voice to Parliament referendum campaign.
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