The spill

By Madonna King
Updated July 19 2014 - 4:08pm, first published 3:00am
Baggage: With Malcolm and Lucy Turnbull on the day of the spill. Photo: Edwina Pickles EDP
Baggage: With Malcolm and Lucy Turnbull on the day of the spill. Photo: Edwina Pickles EDP
"I thought, 'Abbott won't last long ...'": Joe Hockey. Photo: Tim Bauer
"I thought, 'Abbott won't last long ...'": Joe Hockey. Photo: Tim Bauer
Back and to the right: The Coalition shadow cabinet, with Hockey at left, meets in 2007. Photo: Andrew Taylor
Back and to the right: The Coalition shadow cabinet, with Hockey at left, meets in 2007. Photo: Andrew Taylor
Right-hand man: With former PM John Howard in 2001. Photo: Robert Pearce
Right-hand man: With former PM John Howard in 2001. Photo: Robert Pearce
Hockey team: Joe Hockey with his wife Melissa and children. Photo: courtesy of Joe Hockey
Hockey team: Joe Hockey with his wife Melissa and children. Photo: courtesy of Joe Hockey

Joe Hockey woke on the unusually cool morning of Tuesday December 1, 2009, ready to take over the reins of the Liberal Party. His mind was still reeling from the previous evening's events, a circus ride of negotiation, deliberation and discussion. He dressed and headed off to parliament for a vote that would end Malcolm Turnbull's leadership of the party. Hockey had been a reluctant candidate, but if he had stopped to consider the events of the past year, this next step seemed inevitable.

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