Oorain, from memory I believe Tony Abbott was the first Liberal...

Oorain, from memory I believe Tony Abbott was the first Liberal prime minister sacked while still holding office.

More precisely, for whatever reason he failed to maintain the support of the parliamentary Liberal Party, who alone elect their leader.

That to me is a monumental failure.

You might try to explain it other ways but the reality is federal Liberal parliamentarians are the only people entitled to vote for their leader.

As for the direction of the political assault by Malcolm Turnbull on Abbott, it was from the front and the center and with six months warning, not what i would call "knifed him in the back."

I find it best to remember things as they were, not how i'd like them to be.