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Sally Warhaft and Niki Savva

When Julia Gillard overthrew Kevin Rudd in 2010 it was as if the Canberra sky fell in. In the years since, we’ve seen Rudd the Second punished by the electorate and Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull each dispatched by their own party. This year, something changed. Scott Morrison and the Coalition government were re-elected as if the leadership coup against Turnbull never occurred.

Niki Savva is a veteran of Australian journalism and Liberal Party circles – and she was among the many people who were shocked by the May 18 result. At the time of the election, Savva was working on a book called Highway to Hell, documenting the infighting that led to Turnbull's downfall and an expected defeat for the coalition in the polls. The election result occasioned an extra chapter and a new title for the project. The finished book, called Plots and Prayers: Malcolm Turnbull’s Demise and Scott Morrison’s Ascension tells the inside story of conflict and vengeance within the Liberal Party and the extraordinary rise of our new Prime Minister. 

With Sally Warhaft, Savva discusses Canberra savagery and political miracles.