Scott Morrison is new Australia PM as Malcolm Turnbull is forced out in brutal party coup
Scott Morrison and Malcolm Turnbull. Pics/AFP, AP
Scott Morrison was installed as Australia's seventh prime minister in 11 years on Friday after a stunning Liberal party revolt instigated by conservatives unseated moderate Malcolm Turnbull.
Former home affairs minister Peter Dutton, an ex-police officer and right-winger, was the driving force behind the move to oust Turnbull after a party backlash against his more liberal policies.
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But after a week of political intrigue it was Morrison, a Turnbull ally who served as treasurer, who won a party vote 45-40. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, another Turnbull backer, was also in the running but was eliminated in the first round. "My course from here is to provide absolute loyalty to Scott Morrison," Dutton, who Turnbull accused of bullying in the move to knife him, said.
Turnbull has pledged to quit parliament after his near three-year reign came to an end. His departure will spark a by-election, threatening the government's wafer-thin one-seat parliamentary majority.
Why was Turnbull forced out?
* With an election looming, MPs were nervous about the government's poor opinion polling and by-election defeats.
* Last week, a row over energy policy ignited long-existing tensions between Turnbull and his party's conservative wing.
* Dutton then unsuccessfully challenged Turnbull on Tuesday, but his narrow defeat only stoked further discord.
* Morrison entered the race after Turnbull lost key backers. After a majority of MPs called for a leadership 'spill', Turnbull agreed to step down.
* Turnbull has signalled he would resign from parliament, which would force a by-election.
Turbulent politics
The past decade has been marked by a series of leadership coups, with three other sitting prime ministers deposed by party rivals. Not a single leader in recent times has succeeded in serving a full term as prime minister, partly because elections come around so often — every three years — two years less than in the UK.
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