In politics, timing is everything, so people say. Otto von Bismarck, the 19th Century Prussian leader, said it better: a great statesman should “wait until he hears the steps of God sounding through events, then leap up and grab the hem of his garment”.

I’m sure Scott Morrison had things other than Bismarck on his mind when, 18 days before the last federal election, God and his garment were nowhere to be found.