Josh Frydenberg considered challenging Scott Morrison for the prime ministership in 2022, he has revealed.

In an interview to air in full on News24 next Monday, the former treasurer told News24 host Sharri Markson that he considered challenging Mr Morrison at the urging of his Liberal Party colleagues.

Mr Frydenberg served as the Treasurer of Australia under the Morrison government from 2018 to 2022.

“The Prime Minister’s approval ratings had fallen. We were behind in the polls,” he told Sharri.

“We were dealing with another outbreak of COVID. And so a number of colleagues had spoken to me about potentially challenging for the prime ministership.

“I heard people’s complaints and issues that they raised about the direction we were going in.

“But it was not something I wanted to do, and it was not something I was going to do.”

Mr Frydenberg decided not to run against Mr Morrison after former diplomat and ASIO boss Dennis Richardson told him that challenging Mr Morrison would “poison his own” prime ministership.

“He’s somebody who had seen… leadership turmoil up close and his advice was pretty clear that if you challenge a prime minister it can poison your own prime ministership if you’re successful,” he said.

In the interview, Mr Frydenberg also reflected on the secret ministries scandal that plagued the last days of the Morrison government. 

Mr Frydenberg told Sharri he felt “undermined” by Mr Morrison’s decision to secretly appoint himself as joint minister in the health, finance, treasury, home affairs, and industry, science, energy and resources portfolios, and felt even more shellshocked when Morrison told him that he did not regret the decision.

“I felt undermined by it, and I made my concerns known at the time,” said Mr Frydenberg.

“What struck me as odd, to say the least, was when I spoke to Morrison about it after it was made public that he’d sworn himself into Treasury.

“He said to me, if he had his time again, he would have done the same, and I couldn’t believe that.”

Mr Frydenberg believed that had his colleagues known about the secret ministries, Mr Morrison could have been overthrown. 

“Well, I think for other colleagues it would have created its own dynamic, and I think it would have been very difficult for the Prime Minister to keep the team together if those secret ministries had become public at the time.”

The in-depth and unfiltered interview also reveals his personal relationship with Scott Morrison, whether he still has ambitions to become Prime Minister and his family’s escape from Nazi Europe.

The full interview airs 8pm next Monday October 12.

Frydenberg’s autobiography A Grateful Son is available to pre-order now. 

Read related topics:Liberal Party