Barnaby Joyce: ‘I want to be deputy prime minister again’

After the news broke that he was expecting a baby with former staffer Vikki Campion in February, Barnaby Joyce was left with little option but to step down from his role as leader of the Nationals Party and deputy prime minister of Australia.

But the father-of-five has now revealed that he wants his old job back, confessing he would jump at the chance to once again become the second highest ranking politician in the country.

Speaking to Sky News on Monday, Joyce admitted he would love to take back his former position as head of the National Party of Australia but said there is no mechanism for him to roll current leader Michael McCormack.

Read more: ‘I’m a house husband’: Barnaby Joyce reveals dramatic lifestyle change.

“Of course I would.  There’s your answer. The answer is yes, I’d love to do those jobs if given that opportunity again,” he said. “If you said, ‘Do I want that job?’, I’ll give you a straight answer, of course I want that job if I was given it again.”

Former @The_Nationals leader @Barnaby_Joyce has told Sky News he would be open to taking back the role of Deputy Prime Minister. https://t.co/bhHLQXrLwQ

— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) July 22, 2018

Joyce announced his decision to step down from his role as party leader and deputy PM back in February, after news of his affair with former media advisor Campion broke, despite having allegedly been an open secret in Canberra for months.

Read more: Barnaby Joyce’s partner Vikki Campion ‘gives birth to a baby boy’.

The shocking announcement was revealed when The Daily Telegraph ran a photograph of a heavily pregnant Campion – who previously worked for the paper – on their front page alongside the headline ‘Bundle of Joyce’. It came just three months after Joyce confirmed he had separated from his wife of 24 years, Natalie, in December last year.

Sebastian, who was born in April, is Joyce’s fifth child and only son. The three-month-old bub made his TV debut in June when new parents Vikki and Barnaby gave their first televised interview to Channel Seven’s Sunday Night programme, earning them an impressive $150,o00 pay cheque.

Read more: Natalie Joyce breaks silence: ‘How could he overlook our girls?’

Joyce shares four daughters with Natalie, who opened up about the hurt caused by the very public affair for the first time last month when she gave an interview to Women’s Weekly magazine.

Speaking at the time, she said: “I’m normally a very private person but I knew I had to find my voice. They thought I would lie down, but this time I couldn’t. I’m doing this so the girls feel empowered, and know their mum stood up and defended our fine name.”

She also slammed her former partner’s TV interview, describing it as “an absolute disgrace” and slammed Joyce for overlooking their four girls, Bridgette, Julia, Caroline and Odette, and pledging all of the $150,000 earnings to his new son.

What do you think? Would you like to see Barnaby Joyce return to the role of deputy prime minister?