Bill Shorten has declared Malcolm Turnbull should resign because he cannot command his own party and the voters have concluded he is “out of touch”.
A confident Labor leader faced the media in the western suburbs of Sydney on Monday, saying he would work to deliver the stability the prime minister promised repeatedly at the election by reaching out collaboratively to the crossbenchers in the new parliament.
Shorten’s decision to up the ante against the prime minister comes as internal recriminations about the poor election showing continue within the Coalition, and Nick Xenophon is positioning himself as the new parliamentary kingmaker, signalling he is prepared to enter some form of minority government agreement with either leader.
Both leaders have been courting crossbenchers in the past 48 hours as part of contingency planning for the prospect of a hung parliament.
Shorten likened Turnbull to the British prime minister, David Cameron, who found himself on the wrong side of the Brexit result. “This guy is like David Cameron of the southern hemisphere,” he said. “He leads a divided party, he has had an election and he has delivered an inferior and unstable outcome.
“He has taken this nation to an election on the basis of stability. He has delivered instability.
“His own party know he is not up to the job, the Australian people know he is out of touch and he has given a Senate reform which involves two or three One Nation senators.”
Turnbull did not front the media on Monday, but close colleagues instrumental to installing him as Liberal party leader last September made public pleas for restive colleagues to rally behind the prime minister.
Arthur Sinodinos, the cabinet secretary, said Turnbull “still has the vision, I think he still has the policies that are right for Australia in the 21st century”.
The innovation minister, Christopher Pyne, tweeted on Monday afternoon with the hashtag #Turnbullwilldeliver: “The people don’t want ‘jolly japes’ from politicians in Canberra. Message is clear – solid, common sense government.”
The people don't want 'jolly japes' from politicians in Canberra. Message is clear - solid, common sense government. #Turnbullwilldeliver
— Christopher Pyne (@cpyne) July 4, 2016
The attorney general, George Brandis, echoed the calls of Sinodinos and Pyne, saying whatever problems there were in the Coalition’s campaign “they do not lie at the prime minister’s door”.
Brandis also told reporters the Coalition remained “quietly confident” the government would be returned by the close of the count with a working majority. He also confirmed that in his capacity as the government’s Senate leader, he had contacted or attempted to contact all the new balance-of-power players in the upper house on Monday.
Liberal MP Ewen Jones also took aim at Cory Bernardi and David Johnston for running a “quasi campaign to destabilise the leadership” while he and other MPs were still battling to hold their seats.
Jones accused the pair of taking potshots at Turnbull even before it is clear the government can go on with crossbench support in what could possibly be a hung parliament.
Bernardi has emerged as the boldest of Turnbull’s internal critics after Saturday’s election delivered a 3.7% swing against the government, complaining on 5AA radio on Monday that the Coalition had been out-campaigned.
Bernardi lamented the fact the Coalition “went down the same path Labor did during the Rudd-Gillard years”.
“We made a decision, which was incorrect in my opinion, to change leaders in the first term and the transaction cost of that have been felt at this election,” he said. “I do think ultimately that we were out-campaigned.”
Bernardi said the lesson from the result was “you cannot turn your back on your party base”.
He criticised the Liberal pollster Mark Textor for suggesting conservatives’ dissatisfaction was less relevant than the political centre because conservatives had “nowhere to go”.
Bernardi criticised Turnbull for saying Pauline Hanson had no place in politics despite the fact she represents “the concerns of many, many people”, and for being more prepared to dine with Muslim Australians at his Iftar dinner than the conservative base of the Liberal party.
“People should examine their conscience, think about their contribution to this disaster and then I would prevail on them to do the right thing,” he said.
Bernardi said Turnbull and those responsible for the campaign “need to be held to account”.
“I think in the end he should be asking himself if he has done the Liberal party a service or a disservice,” he said.
On Sunday Bernardi called for the Coalition’s proposed marriage equality plebiscite, which Turnbull wants to be completed by year’s end, to be delayed.
The former defence minister, David Johnston, also described the campaign as “shocking”, relying on the “trite” message of jobs and growth. He criticised Turnbull for not attacking Labor on the issue of industrial law breaches by the militant construction union.
But the member for Herbert, Ewen Jones, told Guardian Australia it “didn’t serve anyone any justice to be taking potshots” while he and other colleagues were fighting for their political life.
Jones suffered a 6.8% two-party-preferred swing, and trails his Labor opponent on 49.4% of the vote, although the result is still too close to call.
“They should focus on forming government,” he said. “Of course we can be frank with each other, but let’s do this internally instead of running a quasi campaign to destabilise the leadership.”
Jones paid tribute to Russell Matheson for unsuccessfully trying to hold the marginal seat of Macarthur rather than rolling Angus Taylor for preselection in the safe seat of Hume.
“Matheson didn’t lose his seat so somebody like Cory Bernardi can take potshots over the running of the party,” he said. “We’re out there trying to form government and we don’t need this sort of help.”
Jones said Bernardi’s claim that it was a mistake to change leaders from Tony Abbott to Turnbull was a moot point.
“We changed for a good reason,” he said. “The party room decided to back that. Malcolm Turnbull ran a first-rate campaign, talking about the challenges in front of us in terms of an economy in transition.”
Jones said John Howard and Robert Menzies had suffered first-term swings but had gone on to be long-serving and successful prime ministers.
He was confident the Coalition would retain majority government, but said even in minority government Turnbull would be able to govern.
“If he gets his back office right and we all back him, he can provide the leadership the government does need,” he said. “He can become the sort of prime minister people want him to be.”
Bernardi argued factional divisions did not contribute to the result because “the conservative wing of the Liberal party were very, very disciplined”.
“We offered nothing but support to the prime minister,” he said. “We provided advice behind the scenes when we can. That advice was seldom listened to, I have to say.”
