One of Tony Abbott's staunchest allies has brazenly undermined Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull over his handling of the citizenship saga.
Liberal backbencher Kevin Andrews - who was sacked as defence minister when Mr Turnbull took power in late 2015 - said the prime minister was the leader "at the moment".
"Mr Turnbull is the leader - there's no move to change him that I'm aware of," Mr Andrews told ABC TV on Friday.
"There isn't a vacancy at the moment. The prime minister's there. There's no mood or appetite on the basis of this merry-go-round we've had for years for yet another change."
The conservative MP is among the most vocal backers of a citizenship audit of all members of parliament, insisting the ongoing issue demanded a strong and decisive response.
"This has now become a festering sore for the government. We can't talk about anything else. We need to get this resolved," Mr Andrews said.
Senior cabinet minister Mathias Cormann, a conservative and prime ministerial Praetorian guard, insisted Mr Turnbull was providing strong leadership and skilfully navigating previously intractable difficult policy issues.
"He has got the overwhelming support of our party room," Senator Cormann told Sky News.
"Malcolm Turnbull is our prime minister. He will be the prime minister leading us into the next election."
