Tony Abbott has refused to retract his controversial suggestion that Bob Hawke had a “Liberal head”, after the deeply partisan note to his tribute for Australia’s 23rd prime minister drew strong criticism.

Hawke, whose death at 89 was announced Thursday night, was described by most political observers as a giant of politics who transformed the nation as Australia’s longest serving Labor prime minister between 1983 and 1991.

In a statement posted to Twitter, Abbott, Australia’s 28th prime minister, described Hawke as “Labor’s greatest prime minister”, but also as a leader who “went against the Labor grain as Labor’s more recent policy direction shows”.

“You might almost say he had a Labor heart, but a Liberal head,” Abbott said.

Statement on the death of The Hon Bob Hawke AC, GCL: pic.twitter.com/M8fzbFlVTE — Tony Abbott (@TonyAbbottMHR) May 16, 2019

After about an hour, more than 2,500 people had responded directly to Abbott’s tweet, including prominent Australians and members of the public. By Friday morning that number had risen to well over 5,000. The comments were almost exclusively critical.

At a doorstop in Sydney on Friday Abbott, the Liberal prime minister between 2013 to 2015, was asked about the partisan nature of the comments.

In response Abbott repeated seven times that Hawke was “a wonderful prime minister”, “a really good prime minister” or “the best Labor prime minister ever”. But Abbott declined to defend or retract his earlier claim that Hawke had a “Liberal head”.

Abbott said Hawke had been “rightly mourned by everyone today”.

“The challenge for all of us is to be worthy of the greats of the past. And that’s what I certainly hope to do.”

On Thursday, Scott Morrison said Hawke was “true to his beliefs in the Labor tradition and defined the politics of his generation and beyond”, while Malcolm Turnbull described him as a “great Australian Labor leader and reforming prime minister”.

On Friday the prime minister distanced himself from Abbott’s comments, saying they were not words that he would use and he hoped Liberals reflecting on Hawke’s life “would not be seen to be partisan”.

“All Australians from either the Liberal or Labor side were able to appreciate what he was about, and that’s certainly how I choose to look at that,” Morrison told the ABC.

In 2011, Hawke described Abbott as a “not a bad bloke” but “mad as a cut snake”.

You might almost say you have a pea where your heart should be @TonyAbbottMHR — Wendy Harmer (@wendy_harmer) May 16, 2019

I don’t think Hawke thought he had a Liberal head. #AUSVote19 https://t.co/yadWmBTgbz — PatriciaKarvelas (@PatsKarvelas) May 16, 2019

This tribute to one of Australia’s most loved PMs by Tony Abbott, reminds you why he is one of the most loathed. https://t.co/lwTnx0YQhV — Tom Gleeson (@nonstoptom) May 16, 2019

Screenshotting Tony Abbott's statement on Bob Hawke's passing in the (albeit hopeful) expectation it will be taken down, and rapidly. — Sarah McPhee (@_SarahMcPhee) May 16, 2019

A rare combination of thoughtless, tactless, heartless, clueless and tasteless. https://t.co/70MuvrzbDK — Richard Cooke (@rgcooke) May 16, 2019

Responding to Abbott’s comments on Thursday, Susan Ryan, a former minister in the Hawke government, told the ABC there was “nothing Liberal about Bob”.

“He was absolutely Labor through and through,” she said. “He loved the Labor movement. He loved nothing more in his later years than getting together with union colleagues, singing Solidarity for Ever.”

About an hour later, Abbott posted a second tribute to Hawke on Twitter. Abbott did not address the criticism to his initial statement, but shared a photo of the two prime ministers from 2015, while “deepest sympathies” to Hawke’s family on behalf of him and his wife, Margie.

Catching up with Bob Hawke in 2015.



He had the capacity to reach out to everyone across party lines. He was a great Australian. Margie and I extend our deepest sympathies to Blanche and his family. pic.twitter.com/dEjQ6IL6aa — Tony Abbott (@TonyAbbottMHR) May 16, 2019

Abbott, who was elected to parliament in 1994, is in a tough re-election battle in his affluent Sydney seat of Warringah.

Polls shows the seat on a knife-edge with the conservative warrior facing a challenge from a self-described “small-l liberal” independent, Zali Steggall.