Australia Gets 5th Leader in 8 Years

Australia will get its fifth prime minister in eight years after the ruling Liberal Party on Monday voted out Tony Abbott following months of speculation and lagging support from voters, Reuters reported. 

Malcolm Turnbull, a multi-millionaire former banker and tech entrepreneur and longtime Abbott rival, won a secret party room vote by 54 to 44, Liberal Party whip Scott Buchholz told reporters after the meeting in Canberra.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop was elected deputy leader of the party which, with junior coalition partner the National Party, won a landslide election in 2013.

Since then, the popularity of the government and Abbott in particular has suffered from a series of perceived policy missteps, destabilizing infighting and leaks.

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