Rivals Challenge Malcolm Turnbull, Australia’s Leader, as Party Support Fades

CANBERRA, Australia — Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull lost the support of key members of his party on Thursday and rivals emerged to challenge his leadership, grinding the House of Representatives to a halt, throwing the government into chaos and giving the revolving door of Australian politics another push.

Turnbull, a moderate former investment banker, has been under increased pressure to step aside since a dispute over a proposed energy plan to cut emissions resulted in a mutiny within his conservative Liberal Party earlier this week.

On Thursday, with Turnbull’s position in obvious jeopardy, two members of his Cabinet said they would run in a party ballot expected to be held on Friday, and a third was also expected to do so. Such votes are held in secret and the rules are loosely defined, meaning that a dark horse candidate could yet emerge and win the leadership.

As of Thursday night, the candidates expected to run included:

— Peter Dutton, 47, a conservative who served as home affairs minister and narrowly failed to unseat the prime minister in a party vote on Tuesday.

— Scott Morrison, 50, Australia’s treasurer and a moderate, who pledged his loyalty to Turnbull as recently as Wednesday.

— Julie Bishop, 62, the foreign minister and the Liberal Party’s deputy leader since 2007. She had not declared her intention to run by Thursday night, but was widely reported to be a contender.

Not a single Australian prime minister has completed his or her full term in more than a decade, and the country has had five leaders in 11 years, one of whom served twice. The frequent upheavals, experts said, have left foreign allies uncertain and voters angry when elected leaders are ousted in back-room coups. And compared to previous “spills,” as they are known, this week’s contest has been especially messy and unpredictable.

“The leadership churn is unprecedented. No prime minister since John Howard, who lost office in 2007, has served a full term in office,” said Michael Fullilove, executive director of the Lowy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank. “Governments seem incapable of exercising their authority. They spend most of their time in survival mode.”

With the government’s leadership in doubt, the House of Representatives, Parliament’s lower house, voted on Thursday to adjourn until Sept. 10. Moments later, Turnbull told reporters he would hold a party vote on Friday if he received a letter from lawmakers with enough signatures showing support for a challenge.

“The public hate what is going on at the moment,” Turnbull said, referring to Australia’s frequent leadership changes. “They want everyone here to be focused on them.”

Calling it an “internal insurgency,” Turnbull suggested he would resign from Parliament if he was deposed. If he follows through, his vacant seat will be contested in a by-election that could threaten the Liberal Party’s majority in Parliament.

Thursday started with three senior Cabinet ministers informing Turnbull that he no longer had their support and must hold an internal ballot for prime minister. Over the course of the day, Dutton and Morrison declared their intention to run.

The day’s chaos, and the Liberals’ decision to adjourn debate in the House on issues including the country’s punishing drought, gave the opposition Labor Party a chance to pounce.

“The Liberal Party today has no interest in anyone but themselves,” said Tony Burke, a Labor lawmaker, as the adjournment motion was being debated. “They have completely fallen apart, collapsed.”

“What a legacy,” another lawmaker shouted on the floor of the House.

Australians joke that leadership challenges are a national sport, and gambling websites were giving odds and accepting bets. As each candidate entered the field, the odds on bookmaking sites fluctuated.

But the chances of success for Dutton, a former police officer, whose rise had seemed inevitable Wednesday night, seemed to weaken throughout Thursday.

Early in the day, he tried to tamp down questions about his family’s ownership of two child-care centers, which had received government subsidies — a potential violation of Australia’s Constitution.

Under Section 44 of the Constitution, “any direct or indirect pecuniary interest with the Public Service of the Commonwealth” disqualifies a person from sitting in Parliament.

Dutton called the allegations, first reported by Ten Daily, “spurious and baseless” and said he had not breached the Constitution, but the case added a cloud of doubt to his candidacy.

Questions about Dutton’s eligibility gave Turnbull additional ammunition to delay the vote.

“This issue of eligibility is critically important,” Turnbull said, arguing that any vote should take place only after the legality of Dutton’s situation had been resolved. “You can imagine the consequences of having a prime minister whose actions and decisions are questionable because of the issues of eligibility.”

Experts said a postponement of the vote could potentially help Morrison and Bishop rally support.

“Peter Dutton is so far on the right within the Liberal Party that there will be conservatives who would not relish voting for him,” said Jill Sheppard, a lecturer in politics at the Australian National University.