Australia's 'Game Of Thrones'

The public and businesses find the leadership coups infuriating, but outgoing premier Malcolm Turnbull is but the latest victim of a combination of structural vulnerabilities and a hyper-partisan political environment

Outgoing Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull at his farewell press conference at Parliament House in Canberra yesterday. He has blamed conservatives in the Liberal Party and an aggressive right-wing media for bullying MPs into changing leaders to s
Outgoing Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull at his farewell press conference at Parliament House in Canberra yesterday. He has blamed conservatives in the Liberal Party and an aggressive right-wing media for bullying MPs into changing leaders to shift the party to the right. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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SYDNEY • Australia is enjoying strong economic growth, record jobs growth and has not suffered an economic recession in almost three decades.

But the prosperous country is experiencing one of its greatest periods of political instability, with the Liberal Party dumping Mr Malcolm Turnbull in a leadership coup yesterday and ushering in treasurer Scott Morrison as the nation's sixth prime minister in just over a decade.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on August 25, 2018, with the headline Australia's 'Game Of Thrones'. Subscribe