Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has decided to resign after a text message sent by him calling Prime Minister Scott Morrison “a hypocrite and a liar” was leaked to the media.
The Deputy Prime Minister has said that the Prime Minister has rejected his resignation proposal.
But the deputy prime minister has refrained from appearing on ABC’s Sunday morning program.
A text message from Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has been leaked to the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
Barnaby Joyce said he called the prime minister as soon as he learned the text message might be leaked.
He has tried to prevent a rift between him and the Prime Minister.
But how the two will work together is now an open question, given the deputy prime minister’s strong criticism of the PM’s role.
The Deputy Prime Minister said that what he said was based on “assumptions and criticisms” while he was a backbencher.
“My vision of the Prime Minister from the backbench was based on a generally known assumption rather than a relationship at work,” he said.
“But while working together, I met in him a man who respected every agreement he made with me, who respected every agreement he made with others, even if he is politically on the other side.” Said Barnaby Joyce.
Barnaby said he wanted to apologize to Prime Minister Morrison. He said, “That sentence I wrote should never have been written.”
“I did not think it would become public,” he said. But it would not have ended like this if I had not written it. So it’s my fault, ”Barnaby said.
