Howard, as you rightly say, was written off multiple times,...

Howard, as you rightly say, was written off multiple times, often by Johnnie himself so stranger things have happened.
If Turnbull does not turn around his election-losing four point deficit then he will be gone mid-year if not sooner.
Abbott is one of the possible replacements.

Would a Tony mkII follow Trump's strategy of calling out a biased media, I certainly hope so. If Trump goes hard against the global warming gravy train and hits the UN then Turnbull will be even more exposed as out of synch with the zeitgeist.

Should be an interesting six months.