The collective ambitions, egos and hatreds that govern the Victorian Liberal party room are like the Komodo dragon. Their bite won’t kill you on the spot, but once bitten, you’re as good as dead.

In the weeks since Brad Battin threw around the magnets on his whiteboard to try to come up with a winning shadow ministry line-up, his leadership was bitten and in all likelihood doomed.

Opposition Leader Brad Battin is facing a leadership challenge.Credit: Chris Hopkins

As he limps into Tuesday morning’s party room meeting – where the numbers, according to those doing the counting, are well stacked against him – he can ruefully pencil in October 10 as the day his short, unsuccessful leadership came a cropper.

There is good reason that parliamentary leaders don’t like reshuffling their frontbenches. Whatever the merits of any promotion or demotion, it inevitably creates ill will........

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