Blue-Ribbon Liberals desperately want Peter Dutton to succeed. They want him to stand up and emerge from the Turnbull-Morrison rubble as some kind of conservative saviour. Many are so desperate to see a shred of hope from the Liberal Party that they are there with shovels, digging the Leader of the Opposition out of the dirt, dragging him onto his feet with ropes, and propping him in front of the microphone.

It’s not enough.