Joe Spagnolo: Libby Mettam left with limited time to save her leadership position as 2025 State election looms

Libby Mettam has just three weeks to save her leadership. She has to somehow find a way to turn things around, because the way it’s looking right now, Mettam and the Liberals are facing one hell of an election defeat. And a big defeat means she’s gone as leader. The State election will be held on March 8 and in just three weeks, West Australians will be able to have their say as part of the early voting process. Privately, Liberals are telling me winning 10 seats at this poll would be a miracle. Mettam, as always, is working hard. As Richard Court said last week, she has the most difficult task of any former Liberal leader during an election. She has limited resources at her disposable, has a parliamentary team of just three in the Assembly and the Nationals are acting like the enemy — not her ally. Roger Cook, on the other hand, has a big bank account to make promises, and an experienced and election-savvy team behind him. Look at Cook’s election strategy team. Sue Ellery has been around forever. She joins premier wannabe Amber-Jade Sanderson, health minister in waiting Stephen Dawson, the cunning Rita Saffioti and Labor-rated David Michael in a group that has been selected to work with Cook to get re-elected. Mettam has called back Bill Marmion’s former chief of staff Colin Edwardes to help her out during the election, but certainly has nowhere near the firepower Cook has got in terms of election strategists and personnel. Mettam’s family home is in Dunsborough, and though she stays in Perth whenever she needs to, she and the Forrest Highway have become bloody great friends since she became Liberal leader in 2023. She represents the Liberal brand in a classy and dignified way. But here’s the political truth. Unless the WA Liberals at least match the 2017 election result and, with the help of the the Nationals, end up with 18 seats in the Legislative Assembly, Mettam will be replaced as leader before the 2029 poll. And if the election result on March 8 is diabolical, then you can bet the house on her replacement sooner, rather than later. By who? Well, we all know the answer to that. If, as expected, Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas wins Churchlands and takes his seat in the WA Parliament, he will take the party’s top job. Mettam’s main supporter, powerbroker Peter Collier, won’t be there in the next parliament to protect her and my guess is that new No.1 powerbroker Nick Goiran won’t be as sympathetic to Mettam as he was in late 2024, when he gave her the nod of approval after a Benny Hill-like attempt to dethrone her. For mine, Mettam needs to throw her current game plan out the window and go for broke over these next few weeks. Somehow, she needs to get on the radars of more voters. Libby needs to sell Libby. She has a story to tell and it’s not being told. She’s up against the might of Cook’s Labor Party. If I was her, I’d take a leaf out of Tony Abbot’s 2013 campaign, when he hit the hustings with his daughters Frances and Bridget. Libby’s husband is a winemaker. Get some footage out there of Libby stomping on some grapes. Liberal policies aren’t resonating with the public because, quite frankly, no one believes they will win on March 8. That’s why Mettam needs to start selling herself better. Who is Libby Mettam? She is a mother, a wife, a grandmother — the battler from Vasse who is leader of the Liberals. Tell that story. Court played an interesting card last week. He reminded West Australians of the perils of WA being a one-party State. It’s a card Mettam should also think seriously about playing. What’s the old saying? If you are going to lose, go out swinging.