Sussan Ley details resignation and US road trip in op‑ed

Former Australian opposition leader Sussan Ley confirmed she resigned as Liberal Party leader in February after less than a year in the role, following internal disputes with the Nationals. In an extensive op‑ed for the Australian Financial Review, Ley described the leadership spill as a personal “defining catastrophe” and said she turned off her phone, “disappearing under the doona,” to cope with burnout.

She then recounted a solo journey across the United States, traveling by Greyhound from Los Angeles through North Dakota, South Dakota and Texas, staying in modest hotels and observing the lives of people she described as “in transition and disarray.” Ley noted encounters with border‑control officers, the presence of cash, narcotics and undocumented migrants, and reflected on the fragmented nature of the country. Angus Taylor was named as her successor as Liberal leader.