Shadow treasurer Michael O'Brien. Credit:James Ross Vote-counting for lower house seats resumed on Monday, with the outcome in 11 electorates still undecided. The Liberals will not gather their party room until they know who has been defeated and who has survived. Loading Mr Guy is expected to step down from the leadership but to remain in State Parliament.

Mr Kroger, remains defiant in the face of calls for his resignation, saying he will complete his term in office which ends in March, while Mr Demiris is understood to be staying in his position. It is unclear how much support there is behind the planned push to remove the pair from their posts. Shadow treasurer Mr O’Brien is considered most likely to take the leadership as one of the most experienced Coalition frontbenchers left standing after Saturday’s bloodbath. He declined to comment on Monday. But he might not have a clear run at the leadership, with at least one other Liberal MP considering throwing his hat into the ring. Shadow attorney-general John Pesutto could also be a leadership option, but remains in danger of losing his former blue-ribbon seat of Hawthorn.

Even if he survives, Mr Pesutto might struggle to attract the support he needs while holding a knife-edge marginal seat. One of Mr Kroger's most persistent internal critics, Melbourne businessman Ian Quick, was not slow to vent his criticism of the party hierarchy in the wake of the loss. Mr Quick wrote to his fellow party members on Sunday, saying disgraced former state director Damien Mantach would have performed better than the party's current strategists. "There was no aspect of this campaign that was not stuffed up on a daily basis," Mr Quick wrote to party members on Sunday. "Even Mantach, while stealing money, ran a better-organised campaign.