THE leadership shake-up at the halfway mark to the 2025 State election, highlights the pressure being felt by an opposition alliance that has very little parliamentary numbers and resources at their disposal.
Shane Love replaced Mia Davies as leader of the opposition and The Nationals WA last week, while Libby Mettam became leader of the WA Liberals, following a party room meeting in which former leader, David Honey, pulled out of the leadership contest.
At the announcement of her shock resignation, Ms Davies said she "did not have enough fuel left in the tank" to see the party through to the next State election.
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But that begs the question, who does?
It's no secret that the role of opposition leader can be a rather thankless task, but perhaps even more so when you know your chances of winning at the next State election are slim.
If we look at it in simple terms, in order to form government in 2025, the opposition alliance will need to win 24 seats off Labor, while holding onto the six seats it already has - an extremely unlikely feat.
A much more possible scenario is the opposition slowly clawing back up its numbers from Labor so that, perhaps, a more healthy balance of power is created and they might stand a chance come the 2029 State election.
At the press conference when his new leadership role was announced, Mr Love openly admitted the position wasn't something he was "actively seeking", and while his Roe MP colleague Peter Rundle was named as the only other contender for the role, he didn't appear to have put his hand up either and was promptly named the party's new deputy leader.
"My colleagues have unanimously agreed that I should be their leader to take them into the 2025 election campaign and through to the intervening years," Mr Love said.
"I was very happy to support Mia Davies, who did such a great job as leader of the opposition, but you can't be the deputy leader of a party without expecting that at some point you might be stepping forward and undertaking that role."
After the historic wipeout of the WA Liberals at the 2021 State election, Ms Davies became the first member of The Nationals WA to hold the role of opposition leader in WA since Arthur Watts in 1947.
As the holder of the second most legislative seats in parliament, The Nationals WA was tasked with providing the State with its opposition leader, but whether The Nationals WA will choose to keep that responsibility is yet to be known.
Last Monday, Mr Love said he would seek to meet with Ms Mettam to discuss how the alliance would go forward as an "effective opposition".
"I wouldn't be taking this role if I wasn't prepared to go to the 2025 election and, of course, if you go to the 2025 election, you're expecting to be elected," Mr Love said.
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"The fact of the matter at the moment is that we are the opposition by the numbers of the house and we have worked effectively with the Liberal Party over the past two years in the operations of the house and in opposition generally, so we are looking to continue a good working relationship."
Mr Love said he was someone who had experience living in regional areas, as a local government councilor and Dandaragan Shire president from 2004 up until being elected as the member for Moore in 2013.
Retaining his seat in the 2017 and 2021 elections, he said he wanted to ensure people in communities right across Western Australia could prosper.He also paid tribute to Ms Davies.
"The experience of working with Mia over the past three years and the past two especially as the opposition in parliament has given me great insight into the operations not just of parliament, but the party, its interaction with the community and how to effectively harness the community to achieve good outcomes for everybody," Mr Love said.
Mr Rundle acknowledged his outgoing leader for the "fantastic job she has done and the legacy she created" and said, at this stage, Mr Love was the right person to take the party forward.
"I think Shane brings a great political acumen to the party and to the parliament," Mr Rundle said.
"We will continue to advocate for regional WA in both the parliament and in our electorates."
Liberal MP for the South West Steve Thomas and Liberal Agricultural Region MP Steve Martin congratulated Ms Davies on her longstanding representation of regional people.
"Being a regional representative is a tough job, and Mia has done it with aplomb," Mr Thomas said.
"She has had great energy and enthusiasm whether inside the parliament or outside, and her skills and talents will be incredibly difficult for the National Party to replace."
Mr Martin said Ms Davies had left some "very big shoes to fill".
"Mia and the Davies family can be very proud of her record of public service to the people of WA and in particular to the Central Wheatbelt electorate," he said.
