Former Howard Minister Mal Brough secured over the weekend the Liberal National Party's pre-selection process in Fisher, positioning a close-ally of Opposition Leader Tony Abbott for a likely comeback to federal politics following half-a-decade of absence.

Mr Brough was one of Coalition casualties when Kevin Rudd led Labor in stunning sweep of the 2007 general election that ended John Howard's more than 10 years of rule as prime minister.

Analysts said he is poised to replace House Speaker Peter Slipper, a thorn on the side of the Coalition who late last year abandoned the Liberals to grab the chance of presiding over the Parliament, presumably at the behest of Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

However, the road ahead appears rough for Mr Brough even as he is almost assured in winning the Fisher seat in 2013.

For one, political observers said, Mr Brough needs to effectively ward off allegations that his invisible hands were working when Mr Slipper was forced to stand down earlier this year when the latter's former staff, James Ashby, accused the former Liberal member of sexual harassment.

Labor stalwarts said Mr Brough aided Mr Ashby in pursuing his case against Mr Slipper, with accusations that the two had met three times prior to the scandal that led to the house speaker's sidelining.

Initially, Mr Brough denied the insinuations but later on conceded that he and Mr Ashby had in fact engaged in some discussions.

But he insisted that agreed to meet the former Slipper staff without a clue of the latter's agenda.

"The reality is that when the man came to see me, I did not know why he was coming to see me," Fairfax Media quoted Mr Brough as saying on Monday.

The main reason, he added, that Mr Ashby was granted an audience was the young man's strong affiliation with the Liberals.

Mr Brough asserted that his talks with Mr Ashby were not intended to undermine the house speaker, adding that "somehow that turns into a conspiracy in the eyes of the media."

Whatever malice was attached to his meetings with the rebellious underlings of Mr Slipper was nothing but the product of Labor's dirty tactics, he added.

"There has been no allegation, no suggestion of wrongdoing by me other than by Anthony Albanese and the Labor Party muckrakers," Mr Brough told ABC in an interview Monday morning.

He is firmly convinced too that the Slipper episode will not hurt his chances of rejoining federal politics next year and possibly serve under the Coalition government if Mr Abbott went on to become prime minister by 2013.

Media reports, however, suggested that while Mr Brough may enjoy the backing of Mr Abbott, the two reportedly close friends, current Coalition frontbenchers allegedly will put down their foot on the likelihood that the former Liberal minister will bypass them.

"He's been out of the game for five years ... he goes to the back of the queue," one senior Liberal figure was quoted by Fairfax as saying in a report, highlighting the complications that await Mr Brough's re-entry to Coalition politics.

But the resurrected Mr Brough appears unfazed, insisting that his focus at this time was to contribute in turning around Australia, which he described as perilously heading into the wrong course.

Evidently, analysts said, he is buoyed by the pat on the back of his future boss, Mr Abbott, who today told ABC that his friend is an "outstanding candidate," of the Coalition.