Voting requires a leap of faith, a trust in candidates and parties to deliver on policies and potential. And when Australians go to the ballot boxes on Saturday, there is an added layer of faith required in voting for the Coalition – that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will stamp his authority as a progressive leader on a party whose hardline conservatives have somewhat shackled him since he replaced their champion, Tony Abbott.

But, on balance, that is the leap The Age believes voters should make. Although there is disappointment about Mr Turnbull's performance, and notwithstanding the unexpectedly robust recovery Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has staged, there is not a sufficient case to take the rare and disruptive step of removing a federal government after only one term.

Although there is disappointment about Malcolm Turnbull's performance, putting him in front is the right choice.

Throughout the world the political establishment is being punished for hubris and for being out of touch. We understand the attraction of minor parties such as the Greens and the Nick Xenophon Team and independents, and we believe it an important check and balance that governments do not control the Senate, but we urge a vote for the Coalition in the lower house, so that it might have a stable majority. Mr Turnbull has helmed a more flexible and less harsh administration than his predecessor.

We endorse the Coalition's flagship policy, reducing company tax rates. Although the potential economic benefits are hard to forecast, we recognise a competitive tax rate is part of Australia attracting necessary foreign investment. Lower company taxes do stimulate growth in the economy and in employment, but at the cost of higher deficits or reduced spending. After several years of budget deterioration the fiscal forecasts from both the Coalition and Labor show there will be no budget surpluses in the next Parliament, whoever wins.