Prime ministers can generally trace the lineage of ambition like a steel thread, back through their early years – a childhood filled with the promise of leadership; schoolday debates; youthful activism; the steady seduction of belief in the power of politics. Some even knew they were touched by fate – that one day they would be prime minister.

By dint of his role, Scott Morrison is the most powerful man in the land. But ask him about the making of the man – whether he sees his own life in this way as a continuum to destiny: school, marriage to Jenny, politics, treasurer, prime minister – and he cavils at the very notion.