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Wish I could say something good about Malcolm Turnbull. OK. He’s not Tony Abbott.

There. Feel better now? What’s that? He got rid of Abbott? Well, no, Abbott did a pretty good job of that himself. Before he was rejected by those whose interests he threatened to stuff up; those whose futures he was about to ruin. But not Malcolm’s, at least not right away.

Malcom’s a former tycoon and a lawyer, a wordsmith with business smarts as well as a former Merchant banker, you say? Please. A rhyming slang, is how his peers see him.

Already he is waffling on about being consultative leader who runs a traditional collaborative cabinet government. Last time the tosser was full of it. He meant it, too, before talking everyone else under the table.

On the good side: Turnbull has command of complex issues and is keen to articulate his mastery. On the bad side: Turnbull has command of complex issues and is keen to articulate his mastery, Peter Lewis and Jackie Woods

No-one could fault Turnbull’s understanding or his principles. He was just a dud when it came to leading the team. Sound familiar?

At least the new Liberal leader is recycled, a hand-spun home makeover, you say, a homely re-purposed hand me down kaftan cum security blanket knitted out of some of grandpa’s old woolly work socks that will keep the party snug and warm, until the next election? It doesn’t sound that way from all the bleating and whinging so far.

Cory Bernardi is already bleating he’s left out in the cold again, but a Turnbull-led Liberal Party is not that broad a kaftan. Expect a fuss from other hard right nutters such as Nikolic, Abetz, Andrews, Christensen and too many others to name left outside the tent pissing in. Abbott had them inside the tent pissing out. Or so they thought.

OK, at least the Liberals are recycling at last. But isn’t that putting a bit too much spin on an act of desperation. Not cosying up together, just a mob of sheep rushing to huddle up miserably frightened by a bad storm. Most Liberal MPs can’t stand the arrogant bastard who failed last time he held the reins, the smart-arse they just re-elected leader, in a panic to be free of the last mad bastard.

Two cheers are in order. Liberals are free at last of Abbott’s oligarchy, aka the Credlinator and rule by PMO and the sidelining of cabinet. Yet why recycle a leader who didn’t fit last time? Could it be that Malcolm was the only option? An out of date default back up programme?

Still some points at least for recycling even if it means another sort of bully is back in charge for a while.

Will voters see through the makeover? Or will they see it as another expensive Direct Action con, which the coal-fired party desperately hopes we won’t understand but which Hunt can somehow claim is a world first. Perhaps it is in a way.

I’m with First Dog on this. If Malcolm Turnbull is the answer, you are asking the wrong question. As Malcolm Turnbull, takes his turn carrying the coal scuttle that is the Liberal Party leadership, don’t expect too much in the way of a change of course, least of all in those fabulous national conversations we’ve all been having about the need to pay more tax and have less freedom of speech.

All of our national nattering, getting stuff off our community chests has been obligingly helped along with lashings of data retention, provided by our communications minister and former OzEmail director Malcolm Turnbull who practically invented all that Internet stuff, as his technologically illiterate former PM was fond of boasting when it suited him.

Turnbull returned the vote of confidence by enabling the state full and free access to every citizen’s private cyber life. Say what you like about Turnbull, he gets things done.

Communications Minister, Turnbull was the head-kicker who got on to the ABC over Q&A having Zaky Mallah, the man who dared to travel to Syria to film the Syrian civil war in its show.

‘Heads must roll’ said Abbott, channelling his death cult nemesis while doing the nation a favour by forbidding his ministers from appearing on the show, adding with his finely nuanced understanding of the role of public broadcasting, ‘Which side is the ABC on?’

In case this threat to its independence was dismissed another Abbott bit of hairy chest-beating or shirtfronting, Minister Turnbull quickly put the boot into Q&A, confirming the Liberal party line that the ABC is infested with lefties, greenies and fellow travellers on an anti-government jihad.

At least you could say Turnbull actually did something in bullying Mark Scott. Something in addition to the massive cut in funding, the ‘efficiency dividend’ to stifle independence of Joe Hockey’s IPA Budget he seemed happy with earlier.

Now Q&A must share a studio with Peppa Pig and co. Its tweets are vetted, too.

Welcome to Malcolm in the Middle, Episode Two. Or is it just another repeat?