Turnbull to Quit Australian Parliament

Dumped Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull will quit parliament this week, reports said Tuesday, in another headache for Australia’s rattled government which will temporarily lose its tiny one-seat majority. The moderate was deposed in a Liberal party coup last week driven by a hardline conservative faction, AFP reported. After being knifed, he indicated he would leave parliament rather than go to the backbench and told a party gathering on Monday evening he would officially resign on Friday, broadcaster ABC and Fairfax Media reported. His departure will trigger a by-election for his Sydney seat, potentially on Oct. 6, leaving new Prime Minister Scott Morrison in a precarious position with no parliamentary majority for two weeks. Turnbull’s seat in the wealthy Sydney enclave of Wentworth is traditionally a Liberal safe haven, although a backlash against the government’s political infighting could make this less certain.