Until a few days ago I was planning to start this column with: ‘Have you noticed how the heat has gone out of the same sex marriage debate? If it can vanish so fast, it was never a serious issue. And doesn’t it show great discipline that those in the Liberal party who support it are not trying to re-open the issue?’ But that was not to be. Right on cue, a group of backbenchers has emerged from obscurity, dug up this non-issue, elevated it to a status out of all proportion to its importance, held secret meetings, leaked the whole thing to the media for their own self-aggrandisement and, lo and behold, the party has another split on its hands. You really have to marvel at the party’s ability to behave like this, showing political naivety, a complete lack of discipline and a remarkable ability to provide ammunition for endless stories about the Svengali-like grip the conservatives allegedly have over Malcolm Turnbull. And the public must really wonder about the judgment of these neophytes who seem pre-occupied with same sex marriage to the exclusion of everything else. It all builds up to the continuing public perception of a party that is out of touch with the real concerns of the people.

If you ask me, the Liberal Party deserves everything it will undoubtedly get when Senator Cory Bernardi sets up his own party. In fact, it was inevitable that the overthrow of Tony Abbott would set off a chain of events that would lead to the party fracturing or, at best, remaining in a very unhappy and unstable state. In Abbott, the party had a leader you could understand and who stood for some clear principles that appealed to an essentially conservative Australia. He would have won decisively had the party shown discipline and loyalty. But no, it listened to the siren song of the media and installed Malcolm Turnbull, who turns out to be unappealing to the electorate, apparently incapable of deciding anything and branded with this image that he is not his own man. It was Turnbull himself who sowed the seeds of his present trouble when he refused to include Abbott in his ministry, a churlish position he continues to maintain. With that formula, it was inevitable that some conservatives would feel frustrated and that sooner or later some of them, or at least one of them, would leave to form another party. It could have been avoided, but now it has happened. So what did the change of leadership achieve? Near defeat at the last election and plummeting opinion polls.

Worst of all, despite his alleged business skills, Turnbull has now been shown to be such a bad negotiator. The latest instalment in the saga of the notorious telephone call with Donald Trump shows that Turnbull’s main argument was the worst point he could possibly have made, namely that ‘a deal is a deal’ and that the President had no way of getting out of it. Not only was this a red rag to a bull, but Trump is basically right; the deal is dumb, or, as I said in this column on 19 November, it is ‘harebrained’, which it is. It puts the sugar back on the table and sends a signal to would-be refugees that if they can make it to Australia and hence to Nauru or Manus Island, they could well hit the jackpot and make it to the US. The only thing dumber than holding out such an enticement was thinking that Trump would go along with it without an almighty bust-up, and that is exactly what we got. After all, Trump had just won an election campaigning on the exact opposite of the deal that Turnbull was pushing. Trump was also right on the other issue: like it or not, we are using the US as a dumping ground for refugees.

In any event, why should Trump be criticised for doing exactly what he should be doing, on this issue and the other executive orders he has made? Terrorism is a major threat, the US is the main target, it has already been a victim and will probably be so again. Any country is entitled to defend itself against potential threats to its security and the safety of its citizens and it is far better when it comes to fighting terrorism to err on the side of safety. At least with Trump, we are now being forced to have a second look at whether we want a continued flood of Muslim refugees pouring into the west under some sort of alleged right.

Then there is the wall with Mexico, where again he is right. Any country is entitled to strengthen and protect its borders and decide who will come in, just as we do. Walls work. Look at Israel, which has used defensive barriers for years with a marked drop in the infiltration of terrorism. Walls, when necessary, achieve what any country is entitled to demand, that migrants will be lawful and legitimate arrivals. And what a breath of fresh air it is that Trump has made an executive order to repeal two government regulations for every new one passed. He is also right on the order to build the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines to move Canadian oil to US refineries, long frustrated because Obama did not have the guts to do it. And guess what. The luvvies’ current poster boy, Justin Trudeau, supports it; money really brings out the best in people.

So, on his early achievements, Trump has done well. I hope he continues on the same track. And I hope Meryl Streep, George Clooney and the glitterati keep criticising him: it guarantees the President will win next time and brings him closer to winning the popular vote as well. I wonder what inventive argument will be used against him then.