If the coalition loses this election, it won't be Tony Abbott's fault.
That's the opinion of Peta Credlin, his former chief of staff,.
"No one can blame this result on Tony Abbott who I think played a very fair, very dignified team game," she told Sky News.
The Liberal Party's Victorian president Michael Kroger insisted Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had improved the polls in his state after taking over the leadership in September.
But despite coming to the job with great credibility and strong business credentials, he let that leadership drain away by having a drawn-out debate on tax reform.
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"In retrospect ... we shouldn't have let that debate go on for eight months," Mr Kroger said.
