 Nelson 's leadership of the Liberal Party was beset by poor opinion poll numbers . There was speculation that Turnbull would challenge Nelson for the leadership in late 2008 ; however , Nelson caught Turnbull by surprise by calling a snap spill of the party 's leadership positions while Turnbull was returning from an overseas holiday . The spill was moved on 16 September 2008 . Turnbull defeated Nelson by four votes , becoming the leader of the Liberal Party and of the Opposition Coalition between the Liberals and the National Party . Nelson later resigned from the House of Representatives . 
