The OC has learned this morning that a number of individuals associated or believed to be associated with the creation of the a marvellously well written Ted Baillieu Must Go website have been threatened with expulsion from the party for expressing dissent against the Leader by Baillieu loyalists.
THE ROLE OF KEMP
They are believed to have prevailed upon the state President Dr David Kemp to launch a jihad against the dissenters. It is widely expected that Kemp will push the Admin Committee of the Victorian division of the party will refer a number of individuals for expulsion to the Policy Assembly.
"He needs to be seen to do something", a well placed insider told the OC today.
The Baillieu folk say that those involved have acted in such a public way to destabilise Ted that a failure to discipline them will only exacerbate his precarious position. Not that we wish to encourage or help the Liberal's most left-wing state leader ever but many observers in and outside the Liberal party and in the ranks of journalistes strongly disagree, saying that expelling anyone in relation to this could be a gruesome and possibly disastrous process for the party and Baillieu to endure.
PHYRRIC VICTORY FOR RED TED
The Policy Assembly in particular is a large body, with as many as a hundred members, with two from federal electorate and a number from State Council, which would then debate the merits or otherwise of being critical of Ted Baillieu's controversial leadership style.
The concern about Baillieu within the organisation will be impossible to contain at such a gathering, dealing with such subject matter.
Senior Liberals tell the OC that sound recordings of the Policy Assembly have been made before and have been leaked to journalists. It would be inevitable that the gathering would leak to the press and those critical of Baillieu would have an ideal platform to discuss the contents of the site which deal with Baillieu's leadership and policy positions.
Equally, those intent on expulsion will have to accept the normal party processes and debates occurring because if they don't they would leave themselves open to litigation claiming the party's rules and common law procedural fairness were not complied with, which would further draw attention to the serious amount of division within the party and the rising tide of criticism that is engulfing current state Leader Ted Baillieu.
Game on.
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