The Liberal Party's federal director Tony Nutt has quit ahead of what is expected to be a critical review of the last federal campaign, in which the Coalition scraped home with a one-seat victory.
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The 59-year-old is one of the Liberal Party's most faithful servants having worked for the party for 39 years, including a stint as chief of staff to John Howard when he was prime minister. Mr Nutt's departure, announced late Wednesday night, came as a surprise to some of his closest confidantes within the party, who heard of the resignation from the media.
In a statement, Mr Nutt said "it is time" to move on.
But his departure comes after a widespread criticism of his most recent campaign - the 2016 federal election - when Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull held onto power with just one seat. A review by former cabinet minister and respected Liberal elder Andrew Robb is due to be handed to a meeting of the federal executive on Friday.
Mr Nutt's resignation appears to pre-empt criticism of his own performance.
"Federal executive will meet later this week and will receive the report from Andrew Robb and his committee on the 2016 election," Mr Nutt said. "Invariably a close result has been the subject of criticism."
He predicted Mr Robb's report would contain a number of recommendations, which he said "is as it should be because all parties must continually refine and improve."
Government sources said Mr Nutt had been discussing his future with the Prime Minister and Liberal Party president Richard Alston for a number of months and wants to encourage generational change. Mr Nutt will stay on until a new director is found and will assist with the transition.
Mr Turnbull issued a warm statement on Wednesday thanking Mr Nutt for his service.
"He is the consummate political professional and the Liberal Party has no more loyal or dedicated servant," Mr Turnbull said.
"Tony took over the directorship of the federal Liberal Party in late 2015 in very difficult circumstances, he then proceeded to direct the campaign which saw the government returned in the face of a ferocious fear campaign."
However, supporters of Mr Nutt feel the parliamentary leadership of the party hung Mr Nutt and Liberal pollster Mark Textor out to dry by providing the political organisation with little to no saleable policy to develop a winning campaign upon. There have also been complaints that Mr Turnbull and his team were poor at taking advice.
But this was countered by complaints during and after the campaign that Mr Nutt and Mr Textor's campaigning techniques were out of date.
There is also a strongly held view held by right-leaning MPs that Mr Textor, an advocate of gay marriage and indigenous recognition in the constitution, is compromised in his role as pollster for the party, given a significant portion of the party room opposes those positions.
Liberal sources were left wondering who would replace Mr Nutt, with no viable candidates among the team of state party directors. One minister said the search for Mr Nutt's replacement should extend overseas.
The party's two most talented campaigners and strategists, James McGrath and Ben Morton, are both in Parliament.
When Mr Turnbull was leading the party in 2009 he made Mr McGrath, a former advisor to the then London mayor and now British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, the deputy director of the federal party under the then director Brian Loughnane.
