Matthew Guy, who led the Victorian Liberals to an election thrashing in 2018, is again party leader after toppling Michael O’Brien in a leadership coup.
MPs voted 20 to 11 for a leadership spill at a party room meeting on Tuesday morning.
Guy was then voted in as leader unopposed.
The member for Caulfield, David Southwick, was then elected as Guy’s deputy.
The returned leader arrived at the party room meeting flanked by key supporters including MPs Tim Smith, James Newbury, Bev McArthur, Richard Riordan and Bill Tilley.
The 47-year-old former opposition leader and member for Bulleen resigned after a disastrous loss in the 2018 state election, which saw the party shed 10 of its 37 seats in the lower house.
He was replaced by O’Brien, who has faced sustained criticism for failing to land political blows on the premier, Daniel Andrews, and his Labor government amid the pandemic.