Removing PMs hardly ever ends well

As Tory MPs appear to descend into a panic of buyers’ remorse over the election of Liz Truss, they would be well advised to take a deep breath and reflect upon the absurdity of removing a leader after six weeks. As they do so, they might find it instructive to look across the sea to Australia to see the folly of constant leadership turmoil and the ever more lethal poison it injects into the bloodstream of political parties.   

Over the past decade and a half, Canberra – whose politics are famously robust – earned the unenviable taunt of having become the ‘coup capital of the South Pacific,’ as both sides of politics butchered their leaders in a fratricidal game of conspiracy, political assassination and payback. During three consecutive parliaments, the prime minister whom the public had elected was torn down by internal turmoil before they faced another election. On each occasion, the government paid the price at the next election.