When he went off air after his live humiliation on ABC television yesterday, Tony Abbott did not immediately rise and remove his wiring. He sat there, stunned, saying nothing, looking at no one.
He sat there for a long time - so long, in fact, that the Melbourne producer of the Insiders program asked up the line to Sydney where Abbott was, adding: "Is he OK?"
After several cataleptic minutes, Abbott was unplugged and led away. He was not OK. He had just become the latest victim of the internecine warfare ravaging the NSW Liberal Party.
Last week his ideological fellow travellers in the party's right had conspired to bring down their moderate state leader, John Brogden. Yesterday it was payback time.
Two hours before Barrie Cassidy's demolition job on the Health Minister, at the show's 7am production meeting, the Insiders team had no more idea than Abbott of what was to come. Then, about 7.10am, the phone rang.
An anonymous caller told them about comments made by Abbott at a party branch meeting on the night after Brogden's apparent suicide attempt.
According to the caller, Abbott said to the Kenthurst branch on Wednesday night: "Whenever you hear that David Clarke [leader of the faction that brought down Brogden] is doing bad things, you know he is really doing a great job."
Not sure they weren't being sold a pup, the show's producers hurriedly set about getting confirmation. In doing so, they learnt of a second, worse, comment. Earlier the same day, 12 hours after Brogden was rushed to hospital, Abbott answered a question at another function by saying: "If we did that, we would be as dead as the former Liberal leader's political prospects."
Confirmation received, they put it to Abbott, who also confirmed it and offered the weak excuse: "If you want to accuse me of insensitivity, by all means. I have never claimed to be the world's most sensitive person."
Rare understatement from Abbott.
His comments were arguably as insensitive as those about Bob and Helena Carr's marriage that cost Brogden his leadership.
Nasty as Brogden's words were, they were said in an informal social context, after beer had flowed and without apparent premeditation.
Abbott, stone-cold sober and with clear forethought, danced on Brogden's political grave at a formal function.
The Health Minister later offered a mild apology.
Last night the word from John Howard's office was that Tony Abbott's was not a career-ending offence.
No such support was forthcoming for Brogden; but then, Abbott is a right-wing mate and Brogden is not.
So, the question now is: was this payback directed at Abbott because the Liberal left believed him to be directly implicated in the downfall of the former NSW opposition leader?
The indications last night were that it was not - that Abbott was simply the first factional target to appear in the Liberal left's sights.
But not the last.
Moderate sources said there was more to come.
Lots more.
Australia's Federal Minister for Health, Tony Abbott, has made a number of comments about the previous New South Wales Australian Liberal Party leader, John Brogden, who recently attempted suicide, which have been widely thought to be inappropriate.

Abbott is reported to have made comments such as "If we did that, we would be as dead as the former Liberal leader's political prospects" and "Whenever you hear that David Clarke is doing bad things, you know he is really doing a great job", referring to the factional leader claimed to have led the campaign against Brogden. The comments were made at a party function approximately twelve hours after Brogden's suicide attempt. Abbott is also reported to have said "I just want to make it clear I have never told an inappropriate joke, I've never pinched a woman on the backside and I never make inappropriate gestures to women" at a Kenthurst Liberal Party branch meeting, in reference to Brogden's reported behaviour at a function approximately two months ago.

There have been calls for Abbott to resign or be sacked by Prime Minister John Howard from some sectors, such as persons involved in mental health care, as well as the Federal Opposition. They claim that the comments show that Abbott is not mindful of mental health issues when they should be foremost in his mind.

The comments were first raised with Abbott by the ABC ''Insiders'' program yesterday. He confirmed that he had made the remarks and offered to apologize "if anyone is upset", and later that day made such an apology. The extent of the apology was criticised in the House of Representatives in Federal Parliament that day, with Julia Gillard, the Shadow Health Minister, calling it "half-arsed" during debate on a motion to censure the minister for his comments. The motion was rejected as the Liberal/National coalition form Government federally.

There is suspicion that the tipoff about Abbott's comments was made by a member of the left-wing faction of the Liberal party, of which Brogden was a member, as a form of payback against members of the right-wing faction, of which Tony Abbott is a member. The Liberal right are said to have been involved in the campaign against Brogden.