A relative moderate in Australia’s conservative party and an ally of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is poised to succeed him after a vote on Friday that capped days of chaos in the capital and underscored just how turbulent Australian politics have become.
Scott Morrison, who has been serving as the country’s treasurer, is set to become the sixth prime minister in 11 years after defeating Peter Dutton, a former home affairs minister, and Julie Bishop, the country’s foreign minister.
His deputy will be Josh Frydenberg, who had been energy minister under Mr. Turnbull.
The vote was the second challenge this week to the leadership of Mr. Turnbull — who himself assumed office by leading a party revolt in 2015.
But Mr. Morrison, 50, did not initiate the challenge. Rather, he backed Mr. Turnbull earlier in the week, then emerged as a more unifying alternative to Peter Dutton, a former home affairs minister known for his hard-line stance on immigration.
Mr. Dutton mounted the earlier, unsuccessful leadership challenge on Tuesday. After a week of turbulence that he ignited, he sought Friday to bolster the now-damaged Liberal Party as it moves closer to a general election expected in the coming months.
“My course from here is to provide absolute loyalty to Scott Morrison to make sure we win the election,” he said.
For Mr. Turnbull, the end came quickly. After months of negotiations, a rift within the party escalated last weekend over an energy proposal from the prime minister, which was meant to reduce electricity prices and address climate change by cutting emissions.
Mr. Dutton rallied the party’s conservative wing against him, only to fail when the votes were counted.
Experts said it was still not clear whether Mr. Morrison would tilt toward conservatives or party moderates.
