The latest carousel turn in Australia’s pantomime democracy

There are hopes that this is a watershed moment in Australia’s politics but Malcolm Turnbull, the fifth prime minister in just eight years, will need to tread cautiously, writes Gareth Evans

Australia has a new prime minister — its fifth in just eight years. No Australian prime minister has served a full electoral term since 2007, and there have been four incumbents in the last 27 months alone.

In June 2013, Labour prime minister Julia Gillard was defeated in a party-room vote by Kevin Rudd, who lost the post in the general election later that year to the conservative coalition’s Tony Abbott, who has now in turn been defeated in a party-room coup by Malcolm Turnbull.