Australian foreign minister Julie Bishop resigns

New Cabinet

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, a rare female voice in the Australian government, said on Sunday she was quitting the frontbench after a failed tilt at the nation’s top post during a messy partyroom coup.

The deputy chief of the Liberal Party, Bishop had put her hand up to be one of three candidates to replace former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull in Friday’s leadership challenge, but received minimal support from colleagues even as opinion polls pointed to her popularity among voters. Her departure has raised questions about whether she fell victim to party politics and a perceived glass ceiling for women in Canberra.

“I will be resigning from my cabinet position as Minister for Foreign Affairs,” Bishop said in a statement, signalling her intention to remain on the backbench. A moderate, she reportedly garnered only 11 votes out of 85 in the leadership ballot — significantly lower than the two other rightwing challengers, coup instigator Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton and Treasurer Scott Morrison. CANBERRA: Australia’s new PM announced a peacemaking Cabinet on Sunday..

The fractured conservative coalition government needs to present a united front to voters ahead of elections due by May. PM Scott Morrison won a ballot of government lawmakers for the leadership on Friday against rival Peter Dutton. Morrison had been loyal to his predecessor, Malcolm Turnbull, whom Dutton had demanded prove he had the support of ruling Liberal Party lawmakers in a ballot. Turnbull resigned.

Morrison, who last week was the treasurer, returned Dutton to the home affairs ministry he had held under Turnbull.