LIBERAL MOVEMENTS: Who Will Replace The Sheezel // And What Is That Other Julian Up To?

Patriots advise that the vacancy created by Victorian Liberal State Director Julian Sheezel's long expected departure could be filled by three possible candidates at this stage of what is expected to be a three month process:

Stuart Eaton - at this stage the favourite, currently in the employ of Andrew Robb, believed to be under occasional family pressure to work in a more remunerative gig than politics tends to offer. As a former Baillieu staffer and aligned with the Kennett/Baillieu faction he will receive strong support from that camp. Worth noting though that the State Director's job under Sheezel paid over $220K per annum, more than backbenchers and probably one of the biggest party director's salaries in the nation.

Tony Barry - the hard man of the Kroger/Costello faction, seems unlikely to pass by without protest from Red Ted Baillieu. In an unusually manly stance, Baillieu is threatening to publicly veto anyone he deems to be inappropriate.

Simon Morgan - impressive dude, aligned to Kroger/Costello, probably a less provocative choice than Barry but opponents say his parliamentary ambitions for 2010 should knock him out of contention. Not sure we buy that, certainly plenty of examples of incumbent party officials taking up a seat in election campaigns while staying in the job but it's clear Red Ted's peeps will be strongly critical on this basis saying he can't be a candidate and campaign director.

Other goss coming from this evening's Policy Assembly (the OC is still waiting for our invitation, hanging out at the European for gossip tidbits is so demeaning) was that idiot son of the Gippsland aristocracy Julian McGauran may be positioning himself to give up his Senate gig in order to take a crack at a prospective Gippsland by-election if his slightly less bung-brained brother retires to count the family loot and merinos.

Victorian Liberals believe they'd be likely to take Gippsland in a three cornered contest, particularly with a McGauran, potentially putting strains on the current Coalition love between state Nats and Libs.

Sources say that from Julian McGauran's point of view, a half-chance at being elected to the Reps might be better than waiting around for his near certain demise at the next Liberal Senate preselection.

Game on.