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Tony Abbott's former chief of staff Peta Credlin has warned of a "schism" in the Coalition over its same-sex marriage plebiscite plan, even appearing to suggest it could threaten Malcolm Turnbull's hold on the prime ministership. Speaking on Sky News on Monday night, Credlin predicted the legislation needed to hold the plebiscite could fail to pass the Parliament, and accused Mr Turnbull and senior government ministers of lacking "any plan B." "How does it play out? Because no one on the government side has been very comprehensive and straight about the plebiscite," Credlin told conservative commentator Andrew Bolt. "It is very likely it [the enabling legislation] will be opposed by the Greens and Labor and Labor has got stronger in this campaign, not weaker. "The government might claim a mandate but if Labor block it and the Greens block it in the upper house, what is plan B? "All you hear from government ministers is 'we'll cross that bridge when we come to it'." Credlin, who oversaw Mr Abbott's efforts to avoid a conscience vote in the Parliament before he was rolled by Mr Turnbull in September, said she expected a parliamentary vote on same-sex marriage would eventually take place if the government is re-elected on July 2. She said Mr Turnbull would make a "cursory attempt" at passing the enabling legislation "and if that fails he has made it very clear he wants a result by the end of the year". The issue would be "difficult on all fronts" for Liberal and National MPs, some of whom oppose changes to the Marriage Act and even the plebiscite itself. Polls consistently show majority public support for same-sex marriage. "I think it will be a very big schism inside the Liberal Party going back to territory of 2009," Credlin said. "Malcolm knows that very well because that's where he lost his leadership. I think it will also cause enormous stresses within the Coalition." Mr Turnbull was dumped as opposition leader in December 2009 when the Coalition party room went to war over support for Kevin Rudd's emissions trading scheme. It saw Mr Abbott win a leadership vote over Mr Turnbull. She said Mr Turnbull should "stare down" Labor and the Greens because the public supported a plebiscite. "He'll have a fight on his backbench and he'll have a fight in his base," Credlin said. Last week, Greens leader Richard Di Natale did not rule out supporting legislation for the plebiscite, flagging discussion if it meant avoiding a further three year delay. "We will wait until we see the details of any legislation before making a final decision," Senator Di Natale said. Follow us on Twitter

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