Malcolm Turnbull is largely divorced from the Howard era. Coming into parliament only at the 2004 election, Turnbull was not present for the early successes, only the later failures. The intriguing test is where Turnbull takes the party. How will he reinterpret Liberal beliefs? How will he unite the conservative and liberal traditions in the one party?

When historians look back on what has been a week of unprecedented political havoc across the country, perhaps one of the most significant developments will have gone contemporaneously unremarked: the final morphing of Brendan Nelson into Simon Crean. Crean paid the ultimate price. It’s odds-on Nelson will as well.

After the resignation of popular local member and former foreign minister Alexander Downer, the Liberals suffered a 10 per cent swing on the primary vote. Family First candidate Bob Day, who stood as a Liberal in last year’s general election, picked up most of the Liberal vote while the Greens vote was up by more than 11 per cent.

For Government ministers, the Opposition Leader, Brendan Nelson, is something of a political coconut shy at the moment. It’s always worth lobbing something at him: even if the odds are long, you might surprise yourself and win a prize.

The group now has 65 Facebook members, including defeated Prime Minister John Howard’s former press secretary Ben Mitchell and several former Costello staffers. More than 200 invitations to join are pending - including to Mr Howard, The Australian’s columnist Janet Albrechtsen, Ms Bishop and Alexander Downer.