South Australian Liberal insiders fear for the party’s existence as polls point to an election catastrophe

With party’s primary vote polling at just 14%, its predicament presents an intriguing case study for the rest of Australian politics Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The sound of The Killers’ song The Man was blaring at Adelaide’s Hackney hotel as Steven Marshall waded through a throng of supporters to celebrate a drought-breaking triumph for the South Australian Liberal party. Marshall had defeated Jay Weatherill’s Labor government and seen off the threat of Nick Xenophon’s SA Best, to end the party’s 16 years in opposition. “A massive thank you to the people of South Australia who have put their trust, their faith in me and the Liberal team for a new dawn, a new dawn for South Australia,” Marshall told the crowd late in the evening of 17 March 2018. Four years later and the Marshall government was wiped out in a Labor landslide led by Peter Malinauskas. Now, another four years has passed and the optimism of 2018 has been replaced with a mix of trepidation and resignation as catastrophic opinion polling puts the Liberal party in a battle for its continued existence on 21 March. Some d