Ley could give the lie to the 'glass cliff'

She is also only the second woman to lead any major political party.

Unlike Julia Gillard, who was catapulted into the Lodge when she ousted Kevin Rudd, Ms Ley faces a long, hard slog before she can claim the nation's top job.

Some have already played down her election, which saw her defeat Angus Taylor by 29 votes to 25, as an instance of the "glass cliff" in action. That is an oblique reference to the "glass ceiling" used to suggest that when a woman cuts through to a senior position, she is being set up to fail.

Ms Ley rejected this characterisation during her first media outing as the alternative Prime Minister: "I don't accept the term [in relation to my election]".

Nor should anybody else. Mr Taylor gave the party many reasons not to vote for him. The surprise is that the result was so close.

Mr Taylor, as the former shadow treasurer, bears much of the responsibility for the Coalition's failure to effectively prosecute the claim it would be a better economic manager than Labor.

While the LNP has made much of the cost-of-living crisis, soaring interest rates, and government spending, it had little to say about what it would do differently.

Mr Taylor's decision to anoint Senator Jacinta Price, who jumped ship from the Nationals over the weekend to improve her career options, as his preferred candidate for deputy leader was arguably the last straw. Rewarding treachery was probably a bridge too far for some.

Once Mr Taylor was defeated, Senator Price chose not to contest the deputy leadership; a position that would have required her to work closely with Ms Ley, an avowed centrist.

Her moderate and centrist views, and the fact that she has spent much of her time since 2022 wrangling cats on the back bench, have helped insulate Ms Ley from responsibility for the defeat on May 3.

That said, the new Opposition Leader has accepted responsibility for her own mistakes and those of the party more broadly and indicated a willingness to learn from them.

Noting that the party had suffered a "significant defeat", Ms Ley said "the scale [of that defeat] has not been lost on any of us ... we must reflect [on this] with humility".

And, in stark contrast to her male predecessors, she has pledged a consultative and collegiate approach.

Promising "No captain's picks", she said the Liberals needed to do things differently, to stem the decline in the party's female vote, and to listen to the electorate: "We have to meet the people where they are".

Ms Ley, who committed to being much more open and engaged with the press gallery than Mr Dutton (who never addressed the National Press Club as opposition leader), handled the media with aplomb.

Attempts to characterise her statement that all policies were up for review - including the commitment to net zero and the party's position on nuclear power - as a sign they would be ditched were politely, but firmly, dismissed: "No policies have been adopted or walked away from at this time".

Questions about the make-up of the shadow cabinet met with a similar response: "My shadow cabinet will include people who supported me and people who didn't".

Ms Ley, who said it was her intention to take the Coalition to the next election "in a very competitive position", said she would be dealing with the Prime Minister in good faith: "Every good government deserves a strong opposition," she said. "I will be a tough and determined leader".

While these are very early days, Ms Ley's opponents in the government and inside her party would be wise not to underestimate her.