Tony Abbott ignores the numbers

Tony Abbott is digging his political grave.

Democratic politics are essentially about numbers.

And Mr Abbott is turning his back on the three men who could give him the votes he needs to become Prime Minister in a minority government.

His arguments that he is protecting convention and acting on principle are thin.

Bob Katter advanced a more robust argument, when he said Australians, generally, will believe that Mr Abbott has”something to hide” by  refusing to put the Coalition’s policy costings to Treasury, for checking.

Another of the three independents with critical votes, Tony Windsor, puts it even more simply, dismissing Mr Abbott’s arguments as “silly” and his actions as “ill-advised.”

Mr Abbott’s own record, on convention, is weak. His refusal, before the elections, to submit the Coalition’s policy costings to Treasury for checking, was a clear breach of the Federal Charter of Budget Honesty, which covers such things.

Certainly Labor, too, has been less than perfect, itself, about such matters, in the past.

Mr Abbott’s second argument is that Treasury can’t be trusted, to cost the Coalition’s promises.

Not, before a pre-election leak, of one such costing is resolved, anyway.

That’s now a matter for the Federal police.

They are investigating a formal complaint the Coalition made  about this alleged breach.

Mr Abbott did not complain, though, about  earlier  leaks, from a mid level Treasury official, later identified as Godwin Grech.

Mr Grech was leaking material, meant to embarrass the government, to the previous Coalition leader, Malcolm Turnbull.

His short career, as a leaker, came to a sudden end, though, after it became clear that the material Mr Grech was supplying to Mr Turnbull opposition was, perhaps, a little too creative.

Mr Abbott, himself, did benefit from those leaks, though.

They weakened Mr Turnbull’s authority, because he was deceived by them. That, ultimately, helped Mr Abbott get the Coalition’s top job.

So Mr Abbott, himself, really should be grateful to, not angry with, Treasury leakers.