Tim Wilson is considering throwing his name into the hat for the leadership role in the Liberal Party despite only scraping into parliament in a close-fought battle for his seat.
Mr Wilson revealed he was ‘open’ to the role, meaning he would be going up against Angus Taylor and Sussan Ley.
He told Sky News last week it was an option, and confirmed he will make an announcement on Monday.
‘I want to make this clear, I didn’t go back into parliament just to sit around. I got elected because I believe this country has a bold, ambitious, liberal future,’ Mr Wilson said.
‘We must make the case and we must be unapologetic in making that case.’
Mr Wilson appears to have won back his bayside Melbourne seat of Goldstein at the federal election, though Teal candidate Zoe Daniel has yet to formally concede.
He leads by 1,257 votes head-to-head in latest counting, but there are still over 7,000 votes yet to be tallied; mostly absentee ballots from people voting for Goldstein at other electorates, or declaration ballots from those whose entitlement to vote has to be reviewed.
Should he be declared the winner as expected, Mr Wilson will be the only Liberal to have ousted a Teal at the election.
The Liberal MP said he would wait until after the Nationals leadership contest before deciding whether to run for the Liberal.
Nationals MPs will vote on Monday in Canberra to decide between existing leader David Littleproud or Matt Canavan.
Mr Wilson previously held Goldstein from 2016 to 2022 before becoming one of the Liberals to fall victim to the wave of Teal victories in wealthy suburbs in 2022.
Mr Wilson successfully spearheaded the fight against former Labor leader Bill Shorten’s proposed elimination of tax breaks on franking credits for investors.
He is also a marriage equality advocate and, in 2016, proposed to his partner on the floor of Parliament while declaring his support for same-sex marriage reforms.
‘In my first speech, I defined our bond by the ring that sits on both of our left hands. They (the rings) are the answer to the question we cannot ask,’ Mr Wilson said.
‘So there is only one thing left to do. Ryan Patrick Bolger, will you marry me?’
Mr Bolger accepted the proposal with cheers erupting in Parliament.
Many MPs have already pledged their support to either Mr Taylor or Ms Ley so it’s unclear where Mr Wilson would find the numbers for a successful leadership bid.
However, former NSW Liberal Party president Jason Falinski has vocally called on Mr Wilson to stand.
‘You just know with Tim Wilson that from day one he will be out there fighting for the soul of the nation, trying to win the hearts and minds of all ns, not taking the lazy option of a small target strategy that waits for Labor, the Greens and the Teals to lose the faith of people,’ Falinski wrote in The n Financial Review on Sunday.
‘Tim Wilson is not the messiah, but he is someone who has walked through the valley of death and come out the other side. That changes you.’
On Sunday, Northern Territory senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price announced she would run as Mr Taylor’s deputy.
Mr Taylor is being backed by the right faction while Ms Ley is being supported by party moderates.