BULLETIN VIEW,

AUSTRALIANS are sick to the back teeth of political infighting in Canberra.

But few will be too upset if Malcolm Turnbull becomes the latest victim of the endless backstabbing affecting our Prime Ministers.

Mr Turnbull will only be suffering the same fate he inflicted on his predecessor, Tony Abbott in September 2015.

At that time, Mr Turnbull promised a more collegiate, centrist government following two years under Mr Abbott marred by controversial “captain’s calls”.

Many Australians, particularly the majority who crave the sort of stability and strong leadership provided in the Howard era, most fervently hoped Mr Turnbull could deliver on his promises.

How cruelly those hopes have been dashed.

We should have known better. Mr Turnbull may have been a successful banker, but his adventures at the top level of politics have never failed to disappoint.

His leadership of the 1999 referendum on a republic was a dismal failure.

As Minister for Communications he compounded the problems at the NBN – which has still to reach most of the Gold Coast.

And let us not forget how he lost the Liberal leadership while in opposition. Mr Turnbull was taken down because of his decision to support the Rudd Government’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.

In a case of history repeating itself it appears that another such scheme, Mr Turnbull’s National Energy Guarantee, will once again prove his undoing.

Mr Turnbull’s mishandling of the issue has provided the casus belli for Coalition MPs frightened about losing their seats at the upcoming Federal election.

The recent byelection losses to Labor – in which the Liberals performed worse than expected – have made it clear that despite his unpopularity with the public, Labor’s Bill Shorten is on a glide path to The Lodge.

That may yet remain the case.

But it appears increasingly unlikely that the Prime Minister making way for him will be Mr Turnbull.