Scott Morrison was labeled the "Accidental Prime Minister" when he was thrust to the top of a bitterly divided Australian government facing likely defeat in elections only months away.

Since he was elected prime minister in a leadership ballot of colleagues in his conservative Liberal Party on Aug. 24, 2018, Morrison has taken as much time as he had available to repair the government and define his leadership before facing the voters.

The government's fortunes have gone downhill since then, losing two lawmakers and with them its single-seat majority in Parliament as part of the blood-letting that has followed the ouster of Morrison's predecessor, Malcolm Turnbull.

Opinion polls suggest the center-left Labor Party will win government.

There is a sense that Morrison has been able to separate himself from public anger at the revolving door of Australian politics.