The 11-word text that exposed a ruthless Liberal Party ‘black op’

September 2, 2026 — 5:00am

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“Looks like the Perrottets are the Borgias of our time,” texted a former Liberal MP who, like many others glued to the ICAC’s livestream, is both repulsed and transfixed by the alleged machinations of hard-right operatives within their party.

The notorious Borgia family, who were prominent in Renaissance Italy, infamously used nefarious means to maintain political power and influence.

The ICAC’S Operation Rosny is examining allegations of the dark arts of backroom manipulations for political outcomes, including taking money from disgraced developer Jean Nassif to destroy a member of parliament along with a building commissioner.

At the heart of these “black ops” are not one but two brothers of former premier Dominic Perrottet: Jean-Claude and Charles.

While no allegations of wrongdoing have been made against the former premier, the inquiry has heard his younger brother Charles, head of strategy for BP, was reputed to be the “muscle” for the conservative Right faction of the Liberal Party.

The comment about the Borgias was prompted by a text message read to the inquiry that Charles Perrottet sent to his wife, Anita, on October 3, 2021. “We execute the prick as soon as party room is over,” it read.

The message related to a ministerial reshuffle after Dominic became premier following a party room battle in the wake of the shock resignation of Gladys Berejiklian.

Anita “liked” her husband’s message – not that she remembered doing so. Late on Friday afternoon, she snapped at counsel assisting Dr Peggy Dwyer, SC, “Like I’ve said many times now, I do not recall this text exchange.“

The inquiry heard Charles’ “execute the prick” message referred to the intended political demise of then-Liberal minister David Elliott. That Perrottet would send such a message to........

© The Sydney Morning Herald