CANBERRA, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Australian Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce will face a challenge to his leadership when the parliament resumes on Monday.
Andrew Broad, member of parliament (MP) for Mallee in Victoria, on Thursday became the first MP from Joyce's National Party of Australia, which is part of the governing Liberal National Party (LNP) coalition, to call for the deputy prime minister's resignation.
Joyce has come under intense pressure since it was revealed earlier in February that he had engaged in an extramarital affair with former media advisor Vikki Campion who is expecting their child in April.
National Party MPs will meet when the parliament resumes on Monday with Broad confirming he would tell the meeting that Joyce should resign and spend time on the backbench.
Broad is the first member of the Nationals to call for Joyce's resignation, following the lead of several Liberal Party members.
He said that his decision was influenced by the fact that Joyce was unable to serve as acting prime minister while Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is in the U.S. on an official visit this week with the deputy prime minister instead taking a week of personal leave so as to stand aside.
"I need to know as a member of parliament that the person who is going to be the acting prime minister has got their mind on the job," Broad told Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) radio on Thursday evening.
"At this point in time it is not fit for Barnaby to ... step up as acting PM.
"The prime minister has seen that to be evident at this point for Barnaby's best interest, and for the national best interest and for the National Party's best interest."
If Joyce is defeated in a leadership vote, Veterans Affairs Minister Michael McCormack is widely considered the person most likely to take over as Nationals leader and deputy prime minister.
On Monday, McCormack refused to support Joyce as leader, saying he would continue in the position "as long as he gets the support of the National Party room."
Earlier in February, the saga prompted Prime Minister Turnbull to introduce a ban on ministers having sexual relationships with their staff, a move which Joyce responded to by calling the prime minister "inept."
The first interview with Joyce and Campion since news of their relationship broke was published by Fairfax Media on Thursday, a move that Mathias Cormann, who has stepped up as acting prime minister while Turnbull is away, said was part of Joyce bringing "order" back to his personal life.
"The issues that Barnaby's been dealing with are very deeply personal and some of it obviously had spilt over into the professional, and Barnaby made the right decision to take some leave in order to put some order in all of these matters and that's what he's doing and that's appropriate," Cormann said.
Since news of the affair broke, Joyce has faced questions about a series of promotions Campion received within the National Party after her relationship with Joyce began.
Under the ministerial code of conduct, the employment of a partner or family member must be approved by the prime minister, but Turnbull said he never consented to the appointments.
Joyce rebutted by saying that he did not consider Campion his partner at the time, despite having lived together.
Their living situation has also come under scrutiny with the two living in a townhouse owned by a friend of Joyce's in his New South Wales electorate of New England rent-free.
