Sex Affair Hits Australian Government
The centre-right government of Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been thrown into turmoil after the revelations that his deputy has been entangled in an extra-marital affair, straining the alliance between his Liberal Party and the National Party of Barnaby Joyce.
Joyce will take a break next week rather than step in for the country’s leader while the PM is away, as a poll shows his popularity plummeting since admitting to a sex affair with a former staffer.
Joyce, a Catholic who campaigned on “family values” and been married for 24 years, is expecting a child with his former press secretary.
Joyce has so far resisted calls to quit either his seat or his cabinet spot, including a motion that passed the Senate calling for his resignation, since leaving parliament would put the government’s narrow one-seat majority at risk.
