NSW Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian is on course to breeze into the premier's office next week but an emboldened coalition partner looks set to ensure her transition to leader won't be smooth sailing.
Ms Berejiklian on Friday confirmed she would nominate for the Liberal Party leadership, while senior ministers Rob Stokes and Andrew Constance indicated they would not stand in her way.
Within hours of Ms Berejiklian's announcement, NSW Nationals leader John Barilaro vowed that one of his first orders of business in government discussions would be to stop further council amalgamations in regional areas.
"Today I want to make it absolutely clear to the incoming leader of the NSW Liberals ... that the NSW Nationals no longer will be taken for granted," Mr Barilaro said.
"Today I draw the line in the sand, that the NSW Nationals won't just accept the crumbs from the Liberal Party table."
Mr Barilaro said 12 of the 20 councils that have been impacted by forced mergers are in regional NSW and other councils are locked in costly legal proceedings.
"That is not acceptable," he said.
His comments come after the National Party lost the seat of Orange at November's by-election, ending a 69-year reign and prompting the resignation of then leader Troy Grant.
As deputy Liberal leader, Ms Berejiklian backed Premier Mike Baird's controversial plan to slash the number of NSW councils in order to cut red tape and give ratepayers better value for money.
Now it seems she'll have to revisit the issue after Mr Baird's retirement from politics comes into effect next week.
However, Opposition Leader Luke Foley believes Mr Barilaro's announcement is nothing more than a bid to make his party appear relevant.
"I think it's a bit orchestrated," he told reporters on Friday.
"He'll demand something and (Ms Berejiklian will) give it to him so he can say he's delivering for the people in the bush who they've abandoned over the last few years."
Although widely expected to secure the top job after a party room meeting next week, Ms Berejiklian played down her chances on Friday.
"I'm very, very heartened by the support I've received to date from colleagues in the party room, and of course we have a way to go," she told reporters.
"Nothing is assumed, I'm not assuming anything ahead of Monday morning's meeting and in fact if colleagues feel they want to put their hands up, no hard feelings - it's a democracy."
She wants Finance Minister Dominic Perrottet to be her Liberal Party deputy if she secures the top job.
