Unclean hands

In 2016, journalist Niki Savva produced a riveting book about the downfall of Tony Abbott titled The Road to Ruin. Her latest, Plots and Prayers (2019), is a sequel to that tale - focusing on the incredible fall of Abbott's successor, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, and the subsequent victory of Scott Morrison.

Savva talks to all the insiders about what they were doing and thinking during that week in August 2018, when Peter Dutton attempted to oust Turnbull in an ill-advised and poorly-conceived coup. The forensic analysis of who said what, when, and to whom, paints a brutal portrait of our political leaders as a bunch of spoiled, privileged bullies who are only thinking of themselves.  Savva explores the issues plaguing the Coalition government in the months leading up to the overthrow: the National Energy Guarantee; Queensland; Abbott; Barnaby Joyce's affair and child with a staff member; and, Turnbull's inability to gain traction inside the party.

The events of that week were bizarre to those of us outside the 'Canberra bubble': Dutton gathering his forces; Turnbull urging him to put up or shut up; Abbott destabilising from the back stalls; Fifield defecting; Cormann backstabbing; and then, from seemingly nowhere, Morrison emerging victorious.

Over the past year, Morrison has repeatedly claimed that he was loyal to Turnbull, and that he stumbled into the top job once Turnbull's hopes of holding on were lost. But Savva reveals that his supporters were working the numbers and positioning Morrison to take advantage of the chaos they helped cause. It will be interesting to see what Turnbull makes of all this when his memoir is published early next year.

Plots and Prayers is a real-life political thriller - an intriguing, page-turning read. The writing is witty, wry, and intelligent. I knew I would enjoy it from the moment I read veteran journalist Laurie Oakes' endorsement on the front cover where he writes 'How good is this book!' - turning Morrison's catchphrase into wicked praise.