The author is right in identifying that Stop The Boats UNITED the center and right in FAVOUR of the policy. It marginalised the Greenie-Democrat types and was Abbott's one success.

But Abbott was too negative, strange and probably early onset demented to succeed as PM.

Turnbull is a likeable chap with a talkative, intelligent style. This is one contrast to defensive and resentful Abbott, conceited, nasty, Rudd or wearing-Labor-woman-on-her-sleeve Gillard.

plantagenet, Tony Abbott's problem was being a real conservative & the best PM the Democratic Labour Party ever had. The loony left feared that he had the potential to lure too many voters away from the right wing end of the ALP & take the whole nation back to the middle ground, or away from communism.

The left wing media never gave him a chance. Mao-colm Rudd is a slick salesman & enjoying a honeymoon, but sooner or later will have to actually DO something.

Kathryn, darling, i was a Democrat myself & you were never of the centre but from the feminist left. Stick with the watermelons or labor. There is nothing fake about this outrage, it has grown steadily every year for half a century now. Hate bounces & the PC thought police have been pushing anger like a bikie pushing ice.

Actually there were three extremely unpopular Prime Ministers after Kevin Rudd, and one of them was Kevin Rudd. But I wonder to what extent this dissatisfaction with our PMs is due to their increasingly presidential style of government? If you seek to take credit for every initiative, whether you had anything to do with it or not, then you will inevitably end up wearing the blame when it all goes belly-up. Perhaps Turnbull should withdraw a little bit, and let the extremely competent people around him get on with their jobs without attempting to make it all sound like the output of a one-man band.