The Liberal Democrats are facing an identity crisis over which new name to adopt as part of a forced rebrand triggered by the Morrison government.
Party members will vote for their preferred name next month.The party presently has only one sitting MP across Australia - a Victorian state MP - but is hoping a preference count later this week will produce an additional MP; in the NSW parliament.
However, with that byelection and the NSW state election out of the way, the party’s federal executive believes now is the time to consider the name change. The second option, a name candidates ran under at the 2007 federal election, is backed by the party’s old guard, namely former senator David Leyonhjelm. The Liberal Democrats are not currently represented in the Senate, but do have two local government representatives in Victoria.
While state branches are under no legal obligation to change their names, it’s expected they will follow suit in the weeks or months after the national decision for consistency.ABC election analyst Antony Green said it could be risky for minor political parties to change their names. He said it was too soon to say whether a name change would help the Liberal Democrats, but said it could “remove the confusion that has helped the party in the past”.
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