Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, Northern Territory Nationals party room turncoat, has confirmed that she is running for the Liberal Party’s deputy leadership.
Having switched party rooms she’s now confirmed her ambition to lead, eventually.
While it would be a compelling combination were Price to win the deputy’s role alongside leadership aspirant Sussan Ley – the first all female leadership team in the country’s history on either side of the parliamentary chamber – that’s not going to happen.
Price is running on a ticket with fellow conservative Angus Taylor – the shadow treasurer who botched the Coalition’s costings at the last election, as well as opposed an income tax cut Labor included in its budget.
Equally, Ley is effectively running on a ticket with Queensland MP Ted O’Brien. While O’Brien has serious economic qualifications in his pre-parliamentary arsenal, he’d arguably be better in a lower profile role.
Price is somewhat of an enigma. An Indigenous parliamentarian who doesn’t buy into the ‘woke’ agenda that turns Aboriginal rights into a culture war issue.
She thinks that most such activism flies in the face of what needs to happen on the ground in remote indigenous communities.
Unlike many of her critics, who regard Price as some sort of betrayer of her people, she can speak with a real world authority lacking in most activists.
The real challenge for Price is that she must learn major party politicking on the run.
Whether that’s tightening her media rhetoric or working the party room numbers, she’s a maverick looking to play politics in the mainstream.
Just as importantly as adapting and learning the above, Price can’t lose what makes her authentic.
If she crafts a new image designed to be less risky and more controlled, she jeopardises snuffing out what made her successful in the first place.
Plenty of outliers have sought to rise into Liberal leadership positions in the past, only to see their ambitions cut short. Senators too.
Bronwyn Bishop shifted from the senate to the House of Representatives in a bid to become Liberal leader and then PM, only to miss out on a place in John Howard’s cabinet for the next three years.
John Gorton shifted from the Senate to the House to become PM, only to underwhelm in the job to the point where he was replaced by Billy McMahon. The ultimate insult.
In Price’s case she has time on her side to grow, given how perilous the Liberal Party’s situation is after last Saturday’s devastating defeat.
But mistakes will be amplified if she is deputy leader, rather than assuming some other role on the frontbench from which to grow.
If she wins could it be a case of rising too soon, too quickly? Price would say absolutely not – thinking which has held woman back for years.
Perhaps the biggest challenge more broadly for the Liberal Party is who is putting their hands up for the twin leadership roles.
Price, Taylor, Ley and O’Brien all represent the regions, even though the seats Liberals need to win back are in the cities.
Which is why returning MP Tim Wilson, fresh from defeating dancing teal Zoe Daniel, has said that he’s considering a title at the leadership himself.
Ultimately I expect him to decide against running, with most of the numbers already divided between the two already declared candidates.
But Liberals could do worse than accommodate Wilson at the upper echelons of the new leadership group in opposition. No matter who wins the top job.
Equally, if Price doesn’t win the deputy’s role in tomorrow’s ballot, that’s not to say she can’t assume that position in due course sometime in the next three years.
The likelihood of the winning leadership team lasting that long is very low.
And Price, being in the senate, could also be considered down the track for the leadership of the Liberals in that chamber.
Although the role of senate leader is far more about second chamber negotiations on policy and voting strategy.
That isn’t what makes Price a compelling politician. Retail politics is her strength.
Apparently it is neck and neck between Ley and Taylor for tomorrow’s ballot, which suggests it could also be close between Price and O’Brien for the deputy role.
Win or lose, Price isn’t going anywhere.