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Abbott still loyal to his leader
19 February 2008
The former health minister reaffirmed his reputation as ousted prime minister John Howard's fiercest backer in the program, which details the leadership convulsions that helped sink the party's election hopes.
Senior coalition figures admitted they underestimated Kevin Rudd's appeal when he became Labor leader in December 2006, with Mr Abbott's junior minister, Christopher Pyne, telling the program the former government mistakenly thought it could sail through polling day without a leadership change.
But Mr Abbott doubted that the most likely successor, Peter Costello, would have been a ``fresh face'' for voters.
``My view was that at all times Howard was our best asset,'' he says. ``The polling never suggested that a change of leadership would've helped us.''
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