How easily parliamentary observers forget.

Turnbull should be thanking the man he stabbed in the back, namely Tony Abbott, for eventually taking over as PM.

Turnbull’s polling as Opposition leader was so bad in 2009 that had he continued in that role he would have been defeated easily by Kevin Rudd in a 2010 election, and consequently forced to resign and most likely exit parliament.

Instead, under Tony Abbott’s stewardship the Opposition’s performance completely changed, such that Rudd was knifed in the back by his own Party and Abbott went on to out-poll Julia Gillard in the 2010 election, and the rest is history.

On the other hand, had Joe Hockey taken over from Turnbull as Opposition leader in 2009, it is considered unlikely that the Coalition would have fared much better than under Turnbull, and consequently Turnbull probably would have exited parliament by now.