"Leadership swap may already be unavoidable" - from Japan Times

Looks like the knives are out in Japan for Abbott and cohorts. This is the clearest thing I've read yet speculating that Abbott will be rolled by his own party:

Prime Minister Tony Abbott is nearing the end of his first full year in office hobbled by missteps and a souring economy that have plunged his approval ratings to historic lows, increasing speculation he may not survive to a second term. 

Faced with a collapse in commodities prices and an unruly upper house Senate that has held his first budget hostage since May, voters have abandoned his conservative government more quickly than any other in three decades. 

The drum beat of bad news, most recently the thrashing handed to Abbott’s Liberal-National coalition in state elections in Victoria on Saturday, has sparked calls for Treasurer Joe Hockey and Defense Minister David Johnston to be thrown out. 

However, even a Cabinet reshuffle may be too little, too late, with the opposition Labor Party increasingly painting Abbott as a hypocrite over policy shifts that include deep cuts to the popular Australian Broadcasting Corp. 

................... 

Labor has surged ahead to lead the government by a margin of 55 percent to 45 percent in the latest Newspoll released on Nov. 18. 

A Cabinet reshuffle is likely after the Victorian election, Hughes said, but a leadership swap may already be unavoidable. 

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who has performed well this year, is seen as a possible leader. “If those numbers don’t budge, they’re going to have to consider it. They’ve got no choice,” Hughes said.more 

Like I keep saying, why oh why are they keeping Abbott on? Indeed they must be scratching their heads in Japan asking the same question.