Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he will leave the post with an unrepentant “sense of gratitude” and is looking forward to being a “calm Australian” again following Saturday’s election result.
Key points:
- Morrison says he was grateful for the opportunity to lead the country
- The former prime minister says he will support the new Liberal leadership
- He is pleased that Labor is on its way to forming a majority government instead of a suspended parliament.
In his first interview since the Coalition’s loss, Morrison told Nine Radio that while he was “of course” disappointed with the outcome, he respected the democratic process.
“You accept the result and move on and appreciate the opportunity you have had to serve the country,” he said.
“When I was standing there on Saturday night I was very aware of what was happening in Ukraine, there is a country fighting for its freedom and here we were a democratic nation changing a government by peaceful means.
“The party will meet, this is not the first time the Liberal Party has lost an election.
“The party will regroup and concentrate again under a new leadership and I hope to give full support to this new leadership and then become a quiet Australian in the county again. [of Sydney]. “
The former Prime Minister credited the “calm Australians” with his unexpected victory in 2019.
Peter Dutton will run without opposition and become the leader of the Liberal Party next week, with former Environment Minister Sussan Ley becoming deputy vice president.
Morrison will continue in politics, but it is unclear whether he will raise his hand for a shadow ministry or give it a go.
“I have no plans to go anywhere, I’ll go back to the county and restore our lives there, getting the girls back to their routine; I just dropped them off at school this morning,” she said.
“I look forward to being a father again. I haven’t been able to spend time with my family for a long time.”
Morrison said he felt for his Liberal Party colleagues that they had lost their seats, including former treasurer Josh Frydenberg.
“Obviously, he’s devastated that Josh isn’t here. Josh was a big part of the party’s future,” he said.
When asked how he was coping after the major loss, Mr. Morrison said his faith and family allowed him to keep up.
“You are very humble for the opportunity you have had, you can stop in defeat or in the things that have led you to go and do what you have done,” he said.
“I am leaving with no regrets, but a great sense of gratitude.
“Three years later, the country has gone in another direction, that is the nature of politics. I have never felt particularly flattered by the victory of the pessimists in defeat.”
The ‘Teal independents’ campaigned viciously: Morrison
Mr Morrison was pleased that Labor was on its way to forming a majority government instead of having a suspended parliament.
He said the “green-independent independents” made many election promises and hoped they would be held accountable during the next parliament.
“They were very vicious and very brutal campaigns, talking about them with my teammates, they played very hard on the ground,” he said.
“Politics can be a tough, brutal business anyway.”
Morrison did not comment on whether he believed the Coalition should make sure it did not move further to the right with the loss of some of its key moderates.