Angus Taylor has assembled his shadow ministry, but unresolved tensions with the Nationals, policy baggage from the last election and doubts about his own authority leave his leadership exposed.

In allocating the various portfolios in his shadow cabinet and ministry, Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has managed to pay off most of his current political debts, as well as disposing of some of his enemies. But he is now stuck with a few potentially brutal problems.

The first and most crucial is the National Party. While the Liberal leadership was bestowed on Taylor by a comfortable majority of Liberal Party MPs and Senators, it was the Nationals leader, David Littleproud, who was primarily responsible for undermining Sussan Ley and opening the way for Taylor.

Twice he dissolved the Coalition, at first saying it could not continue with Ley as Liberal Leader. That was patched up, only for the Nationals to walk away a second time when Ley insisted that three of the National ministers who had rejected shadow cabinet solidarity in a Senate vote would have to spend time in the backbench sin bin before they could be reinstated.

That too was fixed, with the time on the sidelines for the recalcitrant Senators significantly reduced. On this occasion Littleproud, in announcing the resumption of the Coalition, guaranteed that........

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