By Jefferson Dufflecoat

I don't want to begin this piece by tooting my own horn, but Toot! Toot!.

I said after the "Super Saturday" by-elections that the only thing that would likely result from such a crushing defeat in seats they thought they had in the bag was the leaders believing it wasn't their fault that the losses happened, it was the fault that they ran too moderate a campaign, that they were too centralized and needed to push further right to save the party from an electoral humiliation when the next federal election rolls around.

Today's release of the new shadow cabinet only shows to prove this, let's get the good out of the way first, the move to make newly moved to the lower house ThanksHeadMod into the shadow Attorney-General position is a wise one, he is a very accomplished campaigner, a very wise hand to be moved into such an important role.

Opening roles up for people outside of the parliament is also a smart move, it will give members hoping to gain a chance at a safer seat at the next election a chance to shine, if they seize the opportunity to do so, if they don't then really the party hasn't lost anything by trying so all around, it's not a bad move.

What is bad for the Liberal Party and a problem they continue to have is the leadership, after horrific results at the by-elections and a even more horrendous Newspoll showing the dire straits the Liberal Party were in, due in strong part to the failings of the current leadership to compromise from what they see as their ideals, you would have thought that there would be at least the hint of an olive branch to the more moderate side of the party , that having a compromise on key portfolios would be a smart idea to heal the growing rift in party circles.

What we saw instead was a power grab, The party constitution was changed to make it harder to oust the leadership, even if some think they're travelling down the wrong path.

The key portfolios of shadow Treasurer and Health immune from the outside parliamentarian compromise.

The cementing of a leadership that has so entirely lost their way and perhaps their drive, moves that only serve their own interest

Now I'm sure the leadership of the party will point to the appointing of the new Federal Executive Council as a show of compromise, and yes that council does include the strongest critic of the current leadership, GenericCerealHere, but what does the decision of a council matter when the same leadership has made it harder for them to be brought to task for ignoring the whims of the party faithful and continuing down a path that so far is only showing electoral oblivion?

It just continues to show that the Liberal Party leadership still doesn't get it, whether that is because they are unwilling or unable to compromise from their ideals is anyone's guess but if people were thinking any rifts were going to be healed by today's announcements by the Liberal Party, they would have walked away disappointed and disillusioned.

Which is the last thing the Liberal Party needs right now.