After five days of gridlock across her party, Prime Minister Dahn has made a major intervention in which she criticised those she said were “holding the government and the country to ransom” and “wrecking and ruining” her government and the party’s record in office. The embattled Prime Minister stated that her “record and achievements have far outweighed those of other administrations” – making a passionate defence of how her executive has “kept its promises, taken the country into the Gallian and Centrican League, restored growth and strengthened the country’s military position in Gallia.” Her harshest words were not spared on her biggest critics – taking aim at her former deputy, Dmitry Lebedev – as well as other ministers who had quit her government in a speech where the prime minister seemed almost tearful at times. Commentators have said the claims felt like a “desperate attempt at trying to cling to power” following the lower-house’s decision to vote against the government, overturning her majority for the first time.
The Prime Minister continues to face questions about her future, with many now suggesting her role will be determined by how she handles the growing crises she is facing. A string of criticisms of her government’s handling of a terrorist attack which rocked the country on new year’s day has been the focal point of attacks from the centrist bloc in the prime minister’s Coalition party, with ministers leaving the government and attempting to challenge her as party leader. So far, her critics have failed to convince a majority of the party to back the attempt, but a growing number of colleagues within the party are moving in that direction. It is not yet obvious whether her intervention today will stem the tide, but some sources have suggested that if the prime minister’s challengers do not convince a majority to remove her by the end of the week, that she will be ‘safe’ and will appoint a new executive cabinet by next week.
Pitching herself as facing ‘vicious attacks’ from her former colleagues, Dahn has attempted to persuade her deputies in the lower house to back her energy proposals in a bi-partisan spirit. But the prime minister continues to face a stubborn set of breakaway former ministers and others on the centrist and progressive wings of her party which do not want to vote in line with the president. Dahn has pitched her early backing of the country’s new leader as ‘prudent and necessary’ following the Coalition’s disastrous election showing last year, but others want to take a much more critical and unfriendly approach towards the president. One source said, “the job of the government is to lead, not to pander. Whether to the President or the Nationalists. It’s time to get up off the fence and do something. If the Prime Minister can’t do that, we need to elect someone who will” – but the Prime Minister herself continues to reference her majority election win at the legislative elections in 2018 as ‘proof’ of her appeal in the country.
The Prime Minister says she will ‘fight on’ – but it is now hard to see how she will do so without some form of challenge to her leadership, certainly of the party – and perhaps the country. Sources continue to claim that once a firm challenger comes forward, Federal Executive members will back a vote on the prime minister’s authority, but so far no formal candidate exists with former minister Dmitry Lebedev remaining unclear as to whether he wants to personally take on the Prime Minister.
