Former Liberal treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the opposition faces an “existential threat” and that he has not ruled out a return to federal politics, reopening speculation about a comeback barely four years after he lost the Melbourne seat of Kooyong to teal independent Monique Ryan. Frydenberg told Nine’s 60 Minutes on Sunday night that politics “doesn’t leave your system” and that he would not rush a decision with the next election still about 18 months away.
What Frydenberg said
Frydenberg, who served as treasurer in the Morrison government, argued the Liberal Party’s primary vote has sunk to historic lows and that leader Angus Taylor needs to lift the party’s performance. “The polls are showing that the Liberal Party is at an all-time low and so things have to change,” he said. He added that he had “certainly not closed the door” to standing again but did not name a seat or timeline.
Senior Coalition figures including Taylor have previously said they would welcome Frydenberg back. The comments land as Parliament returns for a sitting week dominated by Labor’s online-safety package and tax changes, giving the opposition a crowded agenda even as internal morale remains fragile after successive election losses.
Ryan’s response
Ryan, who holds Kooyong on a slim margin after the 2022 wave of teal victories, told reporters Monday she was “ready to fight” if Frydenberg sought to reclaim the electorate. She framed the contest as a choice between community-backed climate and integrity policies and a return to what she called “the old Liberal playbook.”
Frydenberg has remained visible in corporate and university roles since his defeat, and party strategists have long viewed him as a potential finance or leadership figure if he re-enters the chamber. Any move would require navigating preselection rules and the reality that several Victorian Liberals are already positioning for the next campaign.
Why it matters now
A Frydenberg return would not by itself reset Coalition numbers in the House, but it would signal whether the party intends to recycle established figures or promote a new generation. Resolve Political Monitor data published Monday showed a modest uptick in Anthony Albanese’s preferred-prime-minister rating and Labor’s primary vote, while One Nation slipped from its mid-year highs — a reminder that fringe-party growth, not only Liberal decline, has reshaped the right-of-centre vote.
For Kooyong voters, the immediate question is whether Frydenberg tests the seat or channels his intervention into a safer path, such as the Senate or a different lower-house vacancy. Until he files nomination papers, the exchange remains a war of interviews — but it has already given Ryan a clear foil as she prepares for another expensive contest in Melbourne’s inner east.