PMs marital woes: could Brian Loughnane ask Tony Abbott to sack Peta Credlin?

THE sensitive issue of whether husbands and wives can lead separate working lives has suddenly appeared at the centre of Tony Abbott’s leadership struggle.

It’s arrived courtesy of the fact the Liberal federal director Brian Loughnane is married to the Prime Minister’s controversial chief of staff Peta Credlin. And this is causing complaints.

The nub of the matter is summed up in this hypothetical question to Mr Loughnane: Would you urge the Prime Minister to remove his chief of staff if it was in the best interests of the Liberal Party?

In short, would he ever advise the PM to “sack the cheese and kisses”?

The answer no doubt would be yes, as Mr Loughnane is a loyal, diligent and successful servant of his party.

But the question underlines the difficulty for him as the husband of the powerful staffer who has become a surrogate for attacks on Mr Abbott himself. She has no intention of resigning. Would he force her out if necessary?

They have separate interests: Mr Loughnane looks after the Liberal Party; Ms Credlin looks after the Prime Minister. Sometimes, the two tasks might not coincide, and there are Liberals who believe one of those times is now, as Ms Credlin increasingly becomes a target of hostility, outside the party and within.

Previously claims of a conflict of interest have been muttered quietly by Liberals but have burst into public confirmation through the leaking of letters sent by party treasurer Philip Higginson.

“How this party ever let a husband and wife team into those two key roles where collegiate competitive tension is mandatory and private consultations between colleagues to see that each side is served well is a complete mystery,” one Higginson letter said.

“The persons in our party’s history that allowed it to occur should hang their heads in collective shame.

“The federal director has a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of the organisation at all times, repeat, at all times. How can this possibly happen when the COS to the PM is his wife?”

There are two important matters to consider in this, one being that husbands and wives can have separate careers without one being influenced by the other. The fact Ms Credlin is married to Mr Loughnane doesn’t automatically mean they must always agree or would be diverted from what they should be doing.

Second, the person responsible for Ms Credlin’s assumption of substantial power within the Government -- by some estimates close to parity with ministers -- is Tony Abbott.

Ms Credlin could not do anything without the authority of the Prime Minister so any complaints should be directed to him.

Mr Loughnane and Ms Credlin form a partnership credited with being a significant force in bringing the Liberals from the 2007 rout to government in 2013.

Prime Minister Abbott consults and respects both and today repeated he was not going to break up his team -- mainly a reference to Ms Credlin.

However, as long as his chief of staff is seen as a obstacle to the Government in 2015 regaining its electoral strength, the greater the pressure on the party organisation, headed by Mr Loughnane, to resolve the matter.

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