Moderates rally around Sussan Ley as Liberal leader says she has been underestimated for much of her life | Liberal party

Senior Liberal moderates are rallying around Sussan Ley following speculation members of the caucus may withdraw support for her struggling leadership following her decision to abandon a net-zero emissions target.

Factional power brokers Anne Ruston and Maria Kovacic issued a statement on Monday objecting to reports in Australia that moderates may be lining up behind West Australian conservative Andrew Hastie in a potential challenge to Ley.

Despite public support, Liberals across the factional party believe it is now inevitable that Ley will be challenged by Hastie or Angus Taylor; However, it is unlikely that there will be a leak in the final session of parliament next week.

Ley brushed off the latest rumors on Monday, pointing to the gender element in ongoing doubts about her leadership.

“I’ve been underestimated most of my life,” the trained pilot told 2GB in one of a series of interviews on Monday to sell the Coalition’s energy plan.

“I remember a lot of guys telling me I couldn’t fly the plane, and they did a lot to keep me out of the front seat.”

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Domestic pressure on Ley increased last week as the Liberal party and the Coalition decided to abandon their commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, marking a major internal victory for the Conservatives over moderates fighting to preserve the climate target.

The fact that the moderates played a critical role in Ley defeating Taylor by 29 votes to 25 in the post-election leadership vote makes the possibility of some defection potentially fatal to Ley’s position.

In a statement released Monday through Ley’s office, Ruston and Kovacic said reports suggesting a majority of the group would support Hastie over Ley were “incorrect.”

“Along with the overwhelming majority of our moderate colleagues, we continue to strongly support Sussan’s leadership,” the statement said.

“This issue was resolved in the party room six months ago and Sussan will lead us strongly to the next election.”

The reference to an “overwhelming majority” of his colleagues supporting Ley appears to be a concession that at least some moderates have lost support for the leader.

In an interview with Sky News, Ruston expressed confidence that Ley would lead the Coalition at the next election in 2028.

“I don’t think anyone should be thinking about facing any difficulties right now. We have a really important job to do right now. We need to call the government out for their failures and show the Australian people that we have an alternative policy agenda,” he said.

Multiple Liberal sources have confirmed that a group of mostly moderate Liberals discussed the possibility of who would be preferred over Hastie and Taylor in a possible leadership contest during a phone call ahead of Sunday’s joint party room meeting to approve the Coalition’s new energy plan.

One of the sources said the debate focused on the policy itself and the leadership question was only mentioned in passing as MPs raised a scenario in which Ley would struggle in the future.

Party sources told Guardian Australia on Monday that the conservative Liberals were not preparing for an immediate leadership fight, meaning Ley could remain in office until after the Christmas break.

“This is the moderates going completely alone at the moment,” according to a right-wing MP who said the Conservatives’ focus was on selling the new energy policy and preparing to fight immigration numbers.

While Hastie and Taylor stand shoulder to shoulder in the fight for net zero, their groups are still divided over which would be the preferred opponent against Ley.

A second right-wing source said domestic support for Hastie had increased last week, with some MPs reluctant to back Taylor given he was energy minister when Scott Morrison signed the Coalition and would reach net zero by 2050 in 2021.

Moderate Liberals, who are fighting to preserve the net zero target, are angry at some aspects of the final policy, including a proposal to allow the capacity investment plan to fund coal-fired electricity.

The program is currently limited to renewable energy sources and storage.

Scores of Liberals at Sunday’s joint party meeting asked shadow energy minister Dan Tehan for clarity on how to respond when voters ask whether the Coalition plans to fund coal projects.

Sources at the meeting said Tehan was being evasive, driving some MPs to despair.

“How do we sell something that anyone can tear apart?” said one Liberal. “This is not a policy, it is a gift to the Nationals.

“National Party seats are now closed to them – but this is destroying the Liberal party.”

Ley rejected criticism of his performance after the Coalition’s primary vote fell to a record low of 24% in a new poll on Monday.

“Six months ago we had a leadership vote in the Liberal party hall. I am the leader and I work hard every day to deliver a serious, compelling policy agenda,” he said.