Do we really want this guy as PM? I mean, really?

The Coalition seems to have a healthy self-destruct instinct which it must have inherited from the shambolic disaster that was Rudd-Gillard-Rudd.

But let’s look at the achievements of the Coalition government so far: it has removed the pointless and futile carbon tax, removed the mining tax (which raised no revenue) and has effectively stopped the thousands of illegal immigrants arriving by boat, many of whom were dying needlessly at sea thanks to Labor’s politically-correct multiculti-gone-mad open borders policy.

Tony Abbott and the government should be emphasising the dire state of our debt position, which is costing the economy billions in interest alone each year, and pointing out every single day that it is Labor, the authors of the mess, that are preventing the action necessary to start clearing it up.

But despite the worst Labor government in living memory, a Galaxy poll at the end of January showed 44% thought Bill Shorten would make the better prime minister, compared to 29% for Abbott, and the Coalition trailing Labor 43-57 on a two-party preferred basis.

Can Australian memories be that bad? Are we all suffering from mass dementia? How can people be seriously considering re-electing Labor barely 18 months after turfing them out at the federal election?

How can Coalition backbenchers seriously consider dumping the sitting prime minister, when during Labor’s administration they criticised Labor for the chaos and lack of stability caused by dumping Rudd?

Yes, Abbott has an image and communication problem, and seems incapable of sticking the knife into Labor about the damage it is wreaking on our economy. Yes, there is clearly a governance issue in the PM’s office, and the Chief of Staff is becoming the story, which is never a good look.

Yes, polls are looking bad right now, but that is partly due to the fact that people have become too comfortable with a culture of government hand-outs and benefits. Australia lived beyond its means for the six years of Labor incompetence, and naturally it is difficult when belts have to be tightened. But governments should not chase populism, they should put the interests of the country’s future first, even if that is initially unpopular with the electorate.

Otherwise, in late 2016, we will be plunged back into the nightmare of a Labor government, with hundreds of boats arriving every month, government spending and taxes going through the roof, borrowing escalating, and, most crucially from this blog’s point of view, the return of a pointless, ineffective tax on carbon dioxide, which as we all know, will cause huge damage to our economy, and make no difference whatsoever to the climate.