Leadership instability might feel modern — it's actually a return to our roots

Updated

It's been 11 years since an elected prime minister served a full term, with Malcolm Turnbull yesterday facing the same brutal end at the hands of his party colleagues that Tony Abbott, Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard did before him.

The latest leadership shift has prompted some Australians to note they have never voted in an election where the PM went on to last a full term. (Though not without some rejoinders, of course.)

Malcolm Turnbull's prime ministership lasted 1,074 days. That's:

longer than the median term length (899 days); but

shorter than the average (1,161 days), which is somewhat distorted by Sir Robert Menzies' longevity.

The leadership instability of the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd-Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison era might feel like a very modern phenomenon. But in some ways, the relatively long-serving governments of Menzies, Fraser, Hawke, Keating and Howard are the outliers in Australian political history.

What should I read next?

Want more charts?

This is part of a new daily series featuring charts which tell a story. If you know of some data that fits the bill, we'd love to hear about it.

Topics: federal-government, australia

First posted