Malcolm Turnbull, Australia’s prime minister, is clinging to power after narrowly escaping a leadership challenge that cemented the nation’s reputation as the “coup capital of the world”.
For Australians, who have become used to waking up to discover they have a new prime minister, the main surprise was that the challenger, Peter Dutton, almost toppled Mr Turnbull despite polls showing his public support as leader of the Liberal party hovers between 3 and 11 per cent.
Mr Turnbull defeated Mr Dutton by 48-35 in a secret ballot of Liberal MPs – a margin that most analysts think is too narrow to secure his future or stave off a further challenge soon.
No Australian prime minister has completed their…