Breaking: Senator Alex Antic wins SA Liberal presidency

Liberal senator Alex Antic has been elected president of the South Australian Liberal Party.The right-wing backbencher, who has praised members of One Nation and repeatedly crossed the floor against the Coalition, defeated SA Upper House leader Nicola Centofanti in a ballot of Liberal Party delegates on Saturday morning.He has previously vowed to give Liberal members a "genuine say in the policy direction" of the party.State president is an internal role roughly equivalent to chair of a company board, overseeing campaign preparations and setting meeting agendas.The ABC has previously reported that the prospect of an Antic presidency has led some in the party to discuss federal intervention to take over management of the SA division.Ms Centofanti, a non-Antic aligned conservative, had the backing of moderates and conservatives who wanted to stop an Antic presidency.But his support among the party's roughly 200 State Council delegates follows a five-year recruitment drive led by Antic in local party branches.Liberal Party state director Alex Hyde confirmed Senator Antic's presidency this morning, although the margin of victory is yet to be published."The new president will convene the state executive soon and we all look forward to getting on with the job," Mr Hyde said in a statement.