Tony Abbott looks further afield for conservative politicians to destroy

Having had a hand in destroying or diminishing the careers of so many conservative politicians in Australia, sacked former prime minister and current Liberal MP for Warringah, Tony Abbott, has been forced to turn his gaze overseas......

The Sydney Morning Herald, 28 October 2018:

London: Tony Abbott secretly met with Boris Johnson two weeks before writing an incendiary article savaging Theresa May's beleaguered Brexit plan, it can be revealed.

The British Prime Minister faces daily leadership speculation and a growing rebellion by Brexiteer MPs and the party's grassroots who fear she will not make a clean enough break from Brussels.

In his piece for The Spectator magazine this week, Mr Abbott accused Mrs May of toying with "surrender" unless she is prepared to go through with crashing Britain out of the European Union with no deal, a scenario remainers believe would have catastrophic consequences and even strident leavers concede could cause the ports to "seize up." Mr Johnson, the former British foreign secretary who is widely considered to be planning a tilt for Mrs May's job, has used the same word to describe her approach to Brexit.

Mr Abbott's meeting with Mr Johnson, kept secret by both parties until now, has been exposed by a Labour MP whom Tony Abbott confided in, not realising he was a Labour and not a Tory MP.

Stephen Doughty told The Sun-Herald he was in Oxford on October 4 when he bumped into Mr Abbott in the street. The former prime minister told him he had just had some "good meetings" with "your man Boris", not realising Mr Doughty is a strong remainer and campaigning for a second referendum…..

“Boris Johnson meets Tony Abbott who two weeks later writes a piece urging Britain to pursue a catastrophic No Deal? As they’d say in Porpoise Spit - ‘What a coincidence!’” Mr Doughty said, referring to the cult film Muriel’s Wedding.

Mr Doughty said he was surprised that both Mr Johnson and Mr Abbott would keep their meeting secret and questioned what the pair discussed “not least given the ongoing attempts by Boris to oust Theresa May and take over as PM and the Brexit negotiations himself.”

"Perhaps he was also giving him some tips on how to oust a prime minister?"

“It seems to me that there are some very strange linkages between Tony Abbott and Boris Johnson and others pursuing a hard Brexit agenda," he said.