He may be tipped as a hot favourite to replace besieged Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce, but Michael McCormack is just not talking.
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Mr McCormack is “not adding further comment’ on this issue, as the scandal continued to dominate the headlines with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Mr Joyce both calling media conferences to criticise each other.
Last week Mr McCormack spoke briefly to The Daily Advertiser on the issue, saying “time would tell” what impact the scandal had on Mr Joyce’s leadership.
When he spoke to The Daily Advertiser, Mr McCormack also could not be drawn on exactly when the party room had become aware of the issue.
“Well look, there’s always rumours circulating in Canberra, and I don’t deal in rumour and innuendo,” he said then.
Mr McCormack is being widely tipped as one of the frontrunners to replace Mr Joyce, who is so far refusing to step down in the wake of the scandal involving his marriage breakdown, his relationship with former employee Vikki Campion, who is now expecting his child, Ms Campion being appointed to high-paid jobs in the offices of others Nationals MPs and Mr Joyce's living rent-free in an apartment owned by a friend.
Fairfax Media is reporting that in two recent polls for the Nationals’ deputy leadership, Mr McCormack came close to amassing the 11 votes needed to take the position.