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Kean, who took over as deputy Liberal leader after over the John Barilaro trade appointment saga, has long been considered a replacement to Premier Dominic Perrottet if the Liberals do not prevail in the tightly contested poll.

Treasurer Matt Kean is the most likely contender to replace Dominic Perrottet if he steps down in the event of an election loss. Ben Symons

A senior moderate said Kean would not be able to resist the chance to be NSW leader, and he had significant support after his efforts in the campaign, including a major fundraising push and shoring up seats at risk from a teal takeover in Sydneys north.

Although a polarising figure within the Liberals, Kean would have the most support in the parliamentary party to become opposition leader, but several sources have confirmed that Henskens, from the right faction, would be eager to nominate.

Ayres, who is fighting to save his ultra-marginal seat of Penrith, may also want to run, one senior moderate party source said. Attorney-General Mark Speakman could also emerge as a leadership contender, although it is unlikely he has enough support.

Kean said on Thursday that his only focus is the election and serving the people of NSW.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet with Sports Minister Alister Henskens. Janie Barrett

Perrottet and Labor leader Chris Minns have both promised they would serve out their four-year terms regardless of the election outcome, but it is likely that neither would stay in the top job if unsuccessful on Saturday.

One long-term Liberal Party insider said the make-up of a minority government could determine whether Kean would be elected leader, including if One Nations Mark Latham holds the balance of power in the upper house.

Latham clearly hates him and may refuse to do a deal with an opposition led by Kean and that could damage his leadership numbers, the source said.

The source said if Latham emerged as a kingmaker and followed through with his anyone but him threats towards Kean, the Liberal Party room would be nervous about backing him.

Penrith MP Stuart Ayres and Attorney-General Mark Speakman. Louise Kennerley, Edwina Pickles

Federal aspirations could also stop the treasurer from nominating if Perrottet decides to step down, allies close to the moderate powerbroker said.

Several Liberal insiders, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Kean was exhausted from the drawn-out state campaign and was eyeing a move to Canberra, possibly contesting the seat of Bradfield when it becomes available, or more likely North Sydney.

North Sydney was lost to teal MP Kylea Tink, ending the political career of Keans colleague and friend Trent Zimmerman, but the Liberals hope to win it back at the next federal election.

There are also likely to be other leadership positions up for grabs, including the leader in the upper house, currently held by former minister Damien Tudehope. He resigned mid-campaign after it emerged that he held undisclosed shares in tolling giant Transurban.

Roads Minister Natalie Ward is a likely contender to replace Tudehope, as one of the most senior women in the party. , which would have paved a possible path to her becoming party leader.

Tudehope would likely return to cabinet if the Coalition wins, as would Ayres.

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Who will lead the Liberals if Perrottet loses the election? - Sydney Morning Herald

Gladys Berejiklian was back for the Liberals this week.

Her emergence in the NSW election campaign may have been low key, but it certainly attracted attention, which could both help and hinder Dominic Perrottet.

The former premier was in Penrith to help the former minister Stuart Ayres.

He resigned from cabinet at the height of the John Barilaro overseas trade post scandal, and is now attempting to stave off Labor in his marginal seat.

Read more of our coverage at the ABC's NSW Election 2023 page.

If he wins and the Coalition is re-elected, he will be returned to the ministry.

The Penrith MP posted a selfie with Ms Berejiklian and his partner, Liberal Senator Marise Payne, outside a Chinese restaurant this week.

The trio go back a long way, and, Mr Ayres'decision to document his visit from the party's former leader was undoubtedly a considered one.

He knows the power of Gladys.

Some within her party refer to it as the "rockstar" effect.

Even though she resigned from the top job under a corruption cloud, and the watchdog is yet to hand down its findings, Ms Berejiklian attracts support like almost no other Liberal.

It was her first sighting during the campaign, just days after her noticeable absence from the party's official launch.

And, she wasn't the only leader, past or present, missing.

Other former premiers Mike Baird and Barry O'Farrell who is now Australia's High Commissioner to India were absent.

The party's federal leader Peter Dutton wasn't there, nor were former prime ministers Scott Morrison, Tony Abbott or Malcolm Turnbull, despite NSW being their home state.

Former prime minister John Howard was there, and got the welcome from Liberal Party members you'd expect pure excitement and adulation.

So, Ms Berejiklian suddenly showing up on the hustings was a surprise.

When asked, her successor was welcoming of her involvement.

"It's great to have Glad as part of the campaign," Mr Perrottet said.

"She was a great premier of New South Wales and to see her campaigning in Penrith I know will make a real difference."

But when pressed on her continued role in the campaign, and, whether he'd like to have her join him in his seat in Epping, the premier became flustered.

"If Gladys came to Epping that would say something," he said trying to laugh it off, referring to the fact that, unlike Penrith, his seat isn't marginal.

It was a slightly awkward moment.

He went on to say Ms Berejiklian had been a "great supporter of mine" and that they grew "close" during the pandemic.

But privately, it is known that their professional relationship (or friendship, if there ever was one) has not continued after her resignation.

Mr Perrottet was clearly uncomfortable talking about his predecessor publicly.

During a televised debate the day before, the Premier and Labor leader Chris Minns were both asked whether they thought Ms Berejiklian had been treated unfairly by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).

There was no pause for thought. Both leaders emphatically answered: "No".

The Premier's stance is certainly different to some other Liberals and is in stark contrast to Mr Morrison's.

In 2021, the then-prime minister declared Ms Berejiklian had been "done over" by the state's corruption watchdog.

"What was done to Gladys Berejiklian, the people in New South Wales know was an absolute disgrace," Mr Morrison said at the time.

Back then, he was arguing against a push for a federal ICAC.

He also wanted the former premier to run in the federal seat of Warringah, on Sydney's northern beaches, to try to take it back from independent Zali Steggall.

Ms Berejiklian chose not to be the candidate, and, she is still waiting for the corruption watchdog to hand down its findings, maintaining she's done nothing wrong.

It's been two-and-a-half years since the bombshell revelation at ICAC she was in a secret relationship with the former Wagga Wagga MP Daryl Maguire, who was under investigation for corruption.

And, it's been almost 18 months since Ms Berejiklian resigned as premier when ICAC announced it was also investigating her conduct over failing to disclose the relationship and the ramifications of that fact.

So, voters are going to the polls not knowing the outcome.

Mr Perrottet has always been steadfast in his support of the state's corruption watchdog.

It's also politically smart at this point.

He can't afford to ignite thedebate over integrity and corruption that played out during last year's federal campaignwhen there are "teal" independents challenging Liberals in Sydney's north.

Ms Berejiklian is set to pop up in at least one of those seats, in an unofficial capacity, before people head to the polls next Saturday.

The question is: will voters bask in her glow, or, does she cast a shadow?

It also draws inevitable comparisons between Ms Berejiklian as premier and Mr Perrottet, and it is indisputable that, at her height, she enjoyed far more popularity than the current leader.

For some voters, Ms Berejiklian may have the star power, but she is no longer the star of the show, and her presence isn't without its problems.

And, a problem-free campaign is key, one week out from polling day.

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Gladys Berejiklian's star power could be Liberals' NSW election trump card - ABC News

This week, Conservative Party deputy leader Melissa Lantsman joins John Ivison to talk about her political journey and the prospects for the Pierre Poilievre-led party in the next election.

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Lantsman says her involvement in politics started before she was a teenager, sparked by vigorous debates around the family dinner table.

Two years ago, Lantsman decided she wanted to make the move from working behind the scenes to federal Conservative candidate. She says she was fortunate to be able to get nomination endorsements from every type of Tory, including Stephen Harper and Pierre Poilievre and Rona Ambrose.

Just weeks into her career as a politician, Justin Trudeau accused the Conservatives of standing with people who wave swastikas in response to a question from the rookie MP about the Freedom Convoy. Lantsman now calls the comment unbecoming of a prime minister of a G7 country.

This week, Lantsman strongly criticized Trudeaus choice for special rapporteur to look into Chinese election interference. She referred to David Johnston as a Trudeau Foundation insider, but says it is a knock against how Trudeau is mishandling the issue not a criticism of Johnstons character.

I think its incumbent on the prime minister to name somebody that the Canadian population would see has no bias and no conflict whatsoever.

On whether Conservative leader Pierre Poilievres uncompromising approach will resonate with disenfranchised Liberals, Lantsman seems positive.

Our coalition may not look like the traditional Conservative coalition but it doesnt mean that people arent going to look for an alternative when it comes to a better future.

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Ivison: Deputy Tory leader says new Conservative coalition is building to bring down Liberals - National Post

BeliefsandPracticesBelief in God among liberals

% of liberals who say they

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Liberals - Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and ...

Five years later the Democrats would nominate an Iraq War opponent named Barack Hussein Obama and win decisively. By 2016, Bushism would be essentially repudiated in the Republican Party by Donald Trump. Today the vestiges of early-2000s hawkishness survive in establishment opposition to Bidens Afghanistan withdrawal, but dovishness is often a political asset rather than a liability, and the post-9/11 vision of a G.O.P. running against weak-on-terror Democrats long ago dissolved.

So has the Bush-era vision of a G.O.P. rallying so-called values voters, a Christian and churchgoing voting bloc, against secularism, sexual liberation and same-sex marriage. The Jesusland that showed up in liberal memes after the 2004 election has been shrinking ever since, and socially liberal values have advanced on a wide range of issues. A world where Republicans could run a national campaign promising to maintain marriage as a heterosexual institution has given way to a world where Republican-appointed Supreme Court justices lock in transgender rights and about one-sixth of American adults in Generation Z self-identify as outside heterosexuality (even if, one supposes, some of them still practice it).

Finally, progressivism has triumphed over the conservative ideology of welfare-state retrenchment, embodied by Bushs push for Social Security private accounts and, in a more dramatic way, by Tea Party deficit panic and Paul Ryans big plans for Medicare and Medicaid reform.

In 2003, this limited-government ideology was powerful enough to keep major health-insurance expansion off the table for Democrats. By 2011, that expansion had happened but seemed it could easily be rolled back, and Obama was officially committed to some form of the deficit reduction demanded by the Tea Party right. But since then, weve lived through a Republican administration that failed to dislodge Obamacare and ditched entitlement reform, an unprecedented experiment in social spending to carry the country through the pandemic and a further spending surge under Biden with Joe Manchin, the most rightward Senate Democrat on fiscal matters, standing to the left of where Obama stood 10 years ago.

So not one but three right-of-center ideologies crusading neoconservatism, moralizing religious conservatism, Tea Party government-cutting have fallen to progressivisms advance. Meanwhile, the country is more racially diverse, pot is legal or semilegal in many states, incarceration rates have fallen, and ideas once on the leftward fringe are dominant across media and academia. In all these ways and more, America in 2021 is the country that liberals in the Bush era wished they lived in: more liberal and permissive across multiple dimensions, less traditionally religious and heteronormative, less male-dominated and less white.

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Cheer Up, Liberals. You Have the America You Wanted.