From Helen Razer at the ABC "unleashed"

August Mandarin One says, "Mate. We're out for at least two terms. Let's whack that Culture Wars bloke in for a bit. He's so forgettable, it'll help everyone overlook how bad we looked after Howard's abysm."

August Mandarin Two replies, "Yeah. I get ya. Brendan Nelson. Kind of like a public amnesia drug. No one will remember him and, just maybe, no one will recall how dodgy the country felt in 2007. Let's whack him in place until Malcolm's ready."

Turnbull to Nelson: toughen up 

Malcolm Turnbull stormed into the new Liberal leader's parliamentary office within an hour of Thursday's leadership vote, tearing into Brendan Nelson over his "funereal speech" and urging him to toughen up. 

Surrounded by cardboard boxes and his staff in a temporary office, Brendan Nelson looked up. The Liberal Party's campaign director, Brian Loughnane, was in the room offering congratulations, as was Nelson's press secretary, former journalist Nigel Blunden, and his senior adviser, Simon Berger. 

Nelson's newly elected deputy, Julie Bishop, had just left the room to freshen up her makeup for the leadership team's first press conference, leaving the Liberal leader in his cramped new office with his staff when Turnbull stormed through the door.

Nelson, touched by the support of his colleagues earlier that day, who backed him over Turnbull, had been moved to tears in the partyroom and was humbled by this moment of Liberal Party history. Turnbull was not.

"That speech was funereal," the multi-millionaire MP exploded, attacking Nelson's rather sombre acceptance of the Liberal leadership. "You can't do that again. You have to sound like the coach at half-time talking to a grand final team. You've got to toughen up."  

Nelson has been charged by the party with rebuilding the shattered Liberals, taking the leadership after John Howard's humiliating defeat on Saturday and Peter Costello's refusal, one day later, to step into the role.

But less than 24 hours into his leadership victory, which split the party in a tight vote, 45 to Nelson and 42 to Turnbull, the post-ballot clash between the contenders was the talk of Liberal circles. 

According to Nelson's supporters, there was then an exchange between the two men on whether Turnbull should attend the leadership team's first press conference.

Some claim Turnbull, despite being vanquished, wanted to be present.

Nelson equivocated, clearly unimpressed with the three amigos approach to leadership featuring himself, Turnbull and his elected deputy, Bishop.