Australia’s premier is a former lawyer who has grabbed his chance to shine, writes Jamie Smyth
Political honeymoons may never last long, but they don’t exist in Australia. When Malcolm Turnbull was sworn in as the 29th prime minister of Australia this week, just a day after ousting Tony Abbott, the tabloids labelled him “Malcolm Turncoat” and the “Smiling Assassin”.
In the days since Mr Turnbull’s successful challenge for the Liberal party leadership, political opponents, the media and internal critics within his party have labelled the 60-year-old former Goldman Sachs banker a “penny pinching millionaire”, an “elitist snob”, and a Machiavellian prince.