Kochie to Abbott: How have you become so unpopular?

TONY Abbott’s office has launched a “charm offensive” in an attempt to win back the favour of disgruntled MPs.

As pressure mounts on the Prime Minister over his leadership, Mr Abbott’s wife Margie last week sent out an invitation to the spouses and partners of all parliamentarians to join her for an art gallery showing in Canberra.

It is the first such invitation by Mrs Abbott since the Coalition won office in 2013.

The function is to be held in the upcoming sitting week.

The event was scheduled as a morning tea at the National Portrait Gallery where Mrs Abbott is a patron.

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But many disgruntled MPs are seeing the move as a cynical effort by the Prime Minister in order to try and win back their support for his leadership.

One MP said it smacked of “desperation”.

“We have very high regard for Margie Abbott but we don’t want this kind of crap. We don’t want our spouses to be involved in these kinds of games,” the MP said.

“It’s about Abbott, not about our spouses. And if it was genuine this kind of invite would have happened a while ago.

“Does the PMO think we are all stupid?”

Another MP said: “Partners have not been on the radar of the Prime Minister or Mrs Abbott since we won office. In some ways they have been treated as third rate citizens”.

“As far as I know this is the first Prime Minister’s wife that has waited so long to do something with the spouses and the timing is just pretty interesting.”

The Prime Minister spent much of last week calling around his backbench trying to quell the anger of those frustrated by his leadership.

But MPs are still angry that Mr Abbott changed his personal mobile number late last year, leaving backbenchers unable to contact him directly with their concerns.

“We wanted to talk to him directly and none of us had his number. It’s just not a genuine consultative style,” said one.

A spokeswoman for the prime minister said: “Spouses and partners attend various events throughout the parliamentary sitting year.”