Barnaby Joyce has fallen into line, now saying it was a “misstep” to describe himself as the “elected deputy prime minister”, while backing away from any potential challenge for the National party leadership.

Less than 24 hours after his former deputy Bridget McKenzie declared Joyce was out of step with the Nationals’ party room and was “frustrating” Australia by “not [focusing] on their needs and issues”, Joyce has backed down and thrown his support behind the party leader, Michael McCormack.

The New South Wales Nationals leader, John Barilaro, had also pleaded for his federal colleagues to “shut up” and “stop navel gazing, stop talking about yourselves”, warning the public spat was impeding the state party’s election challenge.

Seemingly blaming the media for continuing to ask him for interviews, Joyce told the Nine Network he wouldn’t be taking on board all of Barilaro’s advice, but noticeably toned down his rhetoric from last week, when he all but declared himself the legitimate leader of the federal Nationals.

“After the election I hope Michael McCormack is federally elected [as well as] Scott Morrison,” Joyce said. “Maybe it was a misstep on my part.

“We will go to the election with Michael McCormack and with Scott Morrison and … I hope we do everything we can to get them federally elected, otherwise you will get the Greens and the Labor party and independents – you think you have job insecurity [now] .

“You wait until they close down the major export of the commonwealth of Australia, our nation, then the money in the economy will drop out.”

Joyce maintained he would again try for the leadership if a spill was called, but the New England MP said his immediate focus was the NSW state election on 23 March.

“I’ve always said that,” he said. “You are stating the bleeding obvious. If any party has nobody in the leadership position by reason of a spill, then lots of people will throw their hats in – it’s a statement of the bleeding obvious.

“What we need now is to make sure the NSW guys win the election. I think they will get across the line.”

Joyce was forced to step down from the Nationals leadership in February last year, after a sexual harassment claim came to light, which Joyce denied. The woman who made the allegations, Catherine Marriott, later had her name leaked to the media against her wishes. An investigation by the party proved inconclusive.

But the leadership rumblings from Joyce, and his supporters, so close to the May election have alarmed many within the Coalition, as well as those in traditional Nationals electorates.

Joyce has linked his ambitions to the latest energy debate raging through the Coalition party room, with Queensland Nationals-aligned MPs calling for the government to commit to underwriting a new coal-fired generation plant ahead of the election, causing a split with their southern and city Coalition colleagues, whose electorates are dominated by climate change concerns.

But despite dampening his leadership talk, Joyce said he was committed to coal.

“We support the coal industry absolutely and we are going to make sure that the people on the weatherboard and iron, the ones doing it tough, there are people who can’t afford a power bill,” he said.

“They hear our debate and they just feel hot in summer and cold in winter and they feel their absolute standard of living has been taken away from them.

“They’re under the pump. They can’t pay the power bill. I won’t sit by and see that happen. Neither are my colleagues in the National party.”