Turnbull will quit Parliament when he stops being the PM
PRIME Minister Malcolm Turnbull says he sympathises with Tony Abbott after ousting him as leader, but has vowed to quit politics if he loses the Prime Ministership.
Speaking exclusively to The Sunday Telegraph on the first anniversary of his narrow election victory, Mr Turnbull said he understood the difficulty Mr Abbott has had adjusting to life as a backbencher after losing the Liberal leadership.
"It is a big wrench going from being leader to not, I understand that," he said.
Asked if he had sympathy for Mr Abbott after toppling him as leader, Mr Turnbull replied: "Absolutely."
And the Prime Minister knows what it's like to lose the leadership, having been rolled in 2009 by Tony Abbott as Liberal leader, when the party was in opposition.
