When Fairfax Media revealed that Julie Bishop was claiming family travel entitlements for her boyfriend but refusing to declare his financial interests, insisting he was not her partner, sources close to Bishop suggested its publication was motivated by misogyny.

The suggestion was Bishop was being targeted for her gender rather than paying a penalty for her own choices. That the motive could only be about her sex rather than her political actions is the same logic behind the curious narrative that has emerged claiming the veteran MP is not leader today because she is a woman.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and her partner David Panton in the Lexus marquee. Photo by Jesse Marlow. . Credit:Jesse Marlow

As foreign minister, her indefatigable work ethic, poise, and quick wit, combined with her unrelenting pursuit for justice for the MH17 victims, saw the deputy Liberal leader touted as the natural leader-in-waiting - at least at the start of her time in the portfolio.

I have no doubt that Bishop encountered the Liberal Party boys' club and had to fight against it. But the reason she is not prime minister today is because she poorly navigated the ideological turbulence within the Coalition. And she failed to capitalise on her longevity as deputy to demonstrate to the satisfaction of her colleagues she had matured politically after her disastrous attempt at the economic portfolio in 2009.