Everybody thought that if there were changes
happening on Macquarie Street
today they’d have something to do with traffic flows and the opening of the
Cross City Tunnel. Not so, thanks to what wags have called John
Brogden’s youthful exuberance
– getting p*ssed, making racist remarks, going the grope and then
denying it to journalists. This morning Brogden finally twigged that no
amount of PR spin would get him out of this one and quit as leader of
the Liberal Party – but not as an MP.

Hawke and Packer spin doctor Peter Barron has
famously talked about those occasions when political leaders have to go and eat
t*rd sandwiches while smiling. That’s what Brogden tried doing. His advisers left nothing to chance, but
it didn’t work.

After denying the stories of his bad behaviour at
an Australian Hotels Association shindig to weekend paper journalists, he went into
full confessional mode.

Clearly, the hope was that Cross City Tunnel
snarls, the Test defeat and the feral furore as the
international big names arrived in town for tomorrow’s Forbes Global CEO
Conference down at the Opera House would swamp Sydney
radio.

It didn’t work. Brogden received a savaging.
Leading the charge was Bob Carr, who rejected Brogden’s apology for calling
his Malaysia-born wife a “mail-order bride” and called for his sacking in
appearances on both the ABC and 2UE. Then the famously mute Helena Carr spoke.

Earlier this morning Brogden said he’d let the
party decided his fate. “They’ve indicated that they support me, but
obviously I’ll speak to my colleagues throughout the day,” he told Today when
asked if he would resign.

In the end, the outrage was just too much. Brogden’s
gone. O’Farrell seems set to get the job, although everyone knows shadow
transport minister Peter Debnam is interested in the top job,
too.

Brogden managed to offend two pretty sizeable
constituencies – women and ethnic voters, particularly Asians. But the buzz at
first was that Brogden would keep his job.

Reading between the lines of some reports – like
the Herald‘s background piece – the voices of a few key NSW Liberal Party
players like deputy Barry O’Farrell and Andrew Humpherson were clear.

The question still remains of who actually got the
story out there. This is something that has been drifting around since the end
of last month. It’s been known to journalists. And it’s been pressure from
Brogden’s own party that led to today’s dramas.

Young Liberal federal president and David Clarke
jihadist Alex Hawke got mentioned in Brogden’s resignation press conference. All
the former leader said was that Hawke would need to take a look at
himself.

The rampant right have got an unexpected scalp –
or a scalp with unexpected ease. NSW seemed the state where the Liberals had the
best chance of power. The problems that have created this situation remain, and
how the combination of a new premier and a new opposition leader and a new
dynamic will play remains to be seen.