Alex Antic’s rise in SA Liberals has coincided with a collapse in the party’s vote. Is there further to fall?

Election of rightwing senator – once called a ‘vote-losing machine’ – as state president in South Australia takes party further from the centre

Rogue Liberal senator Alex Antic says he will give “back some voice” to party members now that he has been elected as state president in South Australia .

Many of those members are part of “ Alex’s Army ”, the evangelical and Pentecostal Christians the federal MP recruited into the operational wing of the party.

That has given the rightwinger a huge amount of influence in a state that for years was the scene of turf wars between the conservatives and the moderates.

Over the weekend, Antic beat upper house leader Nicola Centofanti 119 to 73 votes to take the presidency.

The prospect of Antic as president led some to speculate that the federal party might forcibly take over the state branch because of concerns over the senator’s close relationship with One Nation and whether Antic was likely to improve the beleaguered party’s vote.

Pollster Tony Barry, the RedBridge director of corporate affairs and communications, has branded Antic a “ vote-losing machine ” for the party.

Since his ascendancy, the Liberal party has been smashed at a federal and a state election.

After SA’s March election, the Liberal party was left with just five lower house seats. Moderates are concerned that opposition leader Ashton Hurn’s attempts to turn around the party’s fortunes will be made more difficult if she is constantly asked about Antic’s musings on topics including vaccinations, trans issues and climate change.

“It’s proof positive that getting involved in politics can achieve outcomes, grassroots political action as it’s known, people joining up, turning up to vote,” he said.

“And … we’re going to give the members of this party back some voice into the machine”.

The organisational wing of the party “cannot dictate policy”, the party says, “but consults with and advises the parliamentary wing, particularly on the development of longer-term policies”.

However, Antic could use his power to force constitutional change, to pre-select candidates that are ideologically aligned, or to pressure sitting MPs to adopt more rightwing policies.

Trish Worth, a state council delegate and Howard government parliamentary secretary, told the ABC the party “should always be selecting the people with the most experience and loyalty”, and criticised his recent moves to change the No Jab, No Play legislation.