Is this the mystery rival taking on Antic in SA Libs leadership war?

Mike Smithson thinks he may have stumbled across a surprise, late contender fighting for the SA Liberal Party’s presidency.

The SA Liberal Party’s delay of one month in electing a new state president, to find a compromising way forward, may have been exposed.

And just maybe, it was “right under the hood”, as car enthusiasts say.

Mystery has surrounded the Libs decision to keep the identity of a last-minute candidate, who nominated 10 days ago, a top secret.

It was meant to stay that way until the revised date of their Annual General Meeting on September 19.

Whoever nominates, and there may end up being more than one contender, will take on hardline conservative Senator Alex Antic for the vacant position.

So, what do we know after a bit of digging into this intriguing guessing game?

I know for certain who isn’t in the race, but I may have accidentally stumbled on the contender whose identity the Libs are not even sharing between themselves.

Unlike the usual lurching Liberal ship, the SS Presidency is holding firm without any strategic leaks, as most see this as a watershed moment and possibly a case of saving the party from itself.

The true reason behind the election delay was a possible challenge to the result under the party’s constitution.

Some members had not been notified of the AGM procedures and after advice from their constitution committee, the initial election timing was postponed avoiding a potential legal challenge that may have followed.

That raised its own questions about the organisational ability of some in the party.

Since then, five names have been put to me as the person coaxed by moderates and so called “sensible conservatives” to take on the might of the Alex Antic forces for the top job.

I’ve publicly speculated........

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