Turnbull proving he’s a master of political self-deception

Just six weeks on from the self-inflicted fall from being Australia’s prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull is morphing into the Energiser Bunny of the dark side of political life. Here’s how.

Malcolm Turnbull is a marvel.

The man keeps providing evidence of the lack of judgment which saw his party room dump him from the prime ministership and, on past performance, he will continue to do so.

He’s morphed into the Energiser Bunny of the dark side of political life.

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull at the NSW Smart Energy Summit in Sydney in 2018. Picture: Dan Himbrechts

I never thought I’d be keen to read his account of his sacking but I’m now really looking forward to seeing the book he’s writing. But I’ll be on the phone to his former colleagues to get their view of the events.

Given his dismal political track record, it would be more than reasonable to think he would by now have totally engaged himself in other fields, far from the arena in which he exposed himself so disastrously.

Over the past few days following the airing of Sky New’s two-part political special Bad Blood/New Blood, its highest rating show of the year, other Canberra savants have weighed in with very well-sourced accounts of Mr Turnbull’s self-inflicted fall.

Curiously, no one mentioned that it followed a pattern he had set when he lost the Opposition leadership to Tony Abbott in 2009.

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Then, Mr Turnbull tried to bully his party room colleagues into believing he had won a debate on emission trading when many of those present saw it otherwise.

Mr Turnbull, who wanted to hotfoot it from the party room and tell then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd that the Liberals would support Labor in its folly, was caught out by Wilson Tuckey who said he had clearly lost the debate and asked for a secret ballot — which Mr Turnbull refused.

It was extremely brave of Mr Tuckey to take on the party leader but in calling Mr Turnbull’s bluff, he set the scene for the events which took place.

Last year Mr Turnbull again tried to bully his challengers and hang on when his support was fast waning.

Bad Blood gave outgoing Sky talent David Speers an opportunity to demonstrate his journalistic skills but in relying on Christopher Pyne, Mr Turnbull’s proxy in the stalking of his political opponents, Speers was unable to reveal the actual manoeuverings which took place.

David Speers on Sky News’ Bad Blood / New Blood.

Thanks to Paul Kelly, Niki Savva and others writing in The Australian on Thursday, Friday and yesterday, a wider audience was given an insight into the bigger picture.

The main point is that Mr Turnbull, either through ignorance or malevolence, tried to claim he could ask Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove, since retired, to block the challenger Peter Dutton from holding office.

According to Kelly, Mr Turnbull even made to reach for the telephone when he issued the threat in front of Attorney-General Christian Porter.

Fortunately, Mr Porter has greater judgment and real steel and moreover, knows his Constitutional law.

Mr Turnbull looked weak and was floundering and this ill-considered menace cost him more support.

Piers Akerman. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

How a man who is as learned in the law as Mr Turnbull QC believed that he, as Prime Minister, had the authority to call the Governor-General and tell him who his successor should be is beyond belief.

Unfortunately for Mr Turnbull but fortunately for the nation, that is not the way the Constitution works.

The Governor-General is bound to appoint the individual who has the support and confidence of the House, whether in the parliament or not, not the person who has the nod from any particular person.

In fact, they have 90 days in which to become an MP if they’re not in the House.

But Mr Turnbull, who has never fully understood the nature of the Constitution and its checks and balances, hence the rout of his Republican campaign, also seriously underestimated the character of those with whom he sat on the front bench.

When all the books, including Mr Turnbull’s own are published, it will be seen that he undermined Peter King, his predecessor in Wentworth, then he undermined Brendan Nelson, the Opposition leader.

He lost his own Opposition leadership through his own total lack of judgment and inability to gauge the mood of his party room.

Then he assiduously began undermining Tony Abbott, who handsomely won back government.

Malcolm Turnbull arriving at the Opera House in Sydney. Picture: John Feder

When Mr Turnbull faced the voters, he reduced the majority to one and left a party poisonously divided. Some legacy.

The heroes of the May election are, naturally, Scott Morrison, but the roles played by stalwarts like Christian Porter and Mathias Cormann, must never be forgotten.

Without these men we would now be suffering under a Bill Shorten Labor government.

Think on that and shudder.