CANBERRA, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has survived a challenge to his leadership from Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton on Tuesday.
Turnbull won the leadership vote 48-35, strengthening his position in the short-term but leaves the door open for future challenges.
Julie Bishop was unchallenged for the deputy leadership.
The leadership of the governing Liberal National Party (LNP) was declared vacant by Turnbull at a party room meeting in Canberra on Tuesday morning, prompting Dutton to run against the incumbent prime minister.
It came after weeks of conservative Members of Parliament (MPs) threatening to revolt against Turnbull over his signature energy policy, the National Energy Guarantee (NEG) and the 26 percent emissions reduction target embedded in the policy.
Turnbull on Monday announced that he had abandoned his plan to legislate the target as part of the NEG in an attempt to appease Dutton and his supporters.
A Fairfax-Ipsos poll published on Sunday night revealed that the LNP was set to lose the upcoming general election in a landslide with the Australian Labor Party (ALP) leading the Liberal National Party (LNP) 55-45 on two-party preferred terms.
