There have been four prime ministers in the three years since June 2013, and Mr Turnbull will be praying voters stand by him and do not opt for a fifth change on election day.
With Labor and the Coalition even in the opinion polls, he has to use the last weeks of the election campaign to convince the electorate he is the best man for the job.
As the federal election approaches, the major political parties have focused their campaigns on distinctly different areas: the Coalition on jobs and growth, Labor on health and education.
But Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is increasingly being questioned about what it is he, himself, stands for.
When he overthrew Tony Abbott as prime minister last year, Mr Turnbull promised action and a different style of governance.
"Now we are living as Australians in the most exciting time. The big economic changes that we're living through here and around the world offer enormous challenges and enormous opportunities. We need a different style of leadership. We need a style of leadership that explains those challenges and opportunities, explains the challenges and how to seize the opportunities, a style of leadership that respects the people's intelligence, that explains these complex issues and then sets out the course of action we believe we should take and makes a case for it. We need advocacy, not slogans."
But 10 months later, it appears Mr Turnbull's chances of remaining prime minister could hinge on whether voters believe he can and will deliver on those words.
Mr Turnbull has faced serious hurdles in getting his way over tax reform, the environment and same-sex marriage from many Tony Abbott supporters on his own backbench.
Many voters have expressed disappointment with his performance, and his personal popularity has dropped in the polls since he took the top job.
But he has told the ABC the numbers do not concern him.
(Journalist:) "I'm giving you an opportunity to address people directly who were perhaps ... who liked you, who were perhaps happy to see you get the job, and have become, for whatever reason, disillusioned and disappointed in you."
(Turnbull:) "Let me say this to you: I am focused on the interests of the people of Australia. I realise, within the political and media bubble, there is a lot of interest in polls and a lot of people navel-gazing and introspection. But, right now, I'm the prime minister. My job is to deliver for Australians."
(Journalist:) "I understand that ..."
(Turnbull:) "And to deliver for all Australians."
Raised by a single parent, Mr Turnbull grew up in the wealthy Vaucluse and Double Bay neighbourhoods of Sydney.
He attended a state school as a child and later received a scholarship to attend a private high school.
After studying law at the University of Sydney, he won a Rhodes scholarship to further his studies at Oxford University.
In the late 1980s, he achieved fame as a barrister defending the publication of book Spycatcher, the memoirs of former British M-I-5 officer Peter Wright.
He went on to established his own legal firm and, in 1997, rose to the position of chairman and, later, managing director of Goldman Sachs Australia.
In 2004, Mr Turnbull was elected MP for Wentworth, the electoral seat where he grew up and continues to live with his wife Lucy Hughes.
She became the first female Lord Mayor of Sydney.
Mr Turnbull was elected leader of the opposition in 2008, but, a year later, faced two leadership challenges, losing the second to Mr Abbott by just one vote.
He says his background stands him in good stead on the political stage.
"I came here to parliament at the age of 50 after a career that had many roles, including many in business, often in partnership with my wife Lucy. And, together, what we have done is built businesses, made investments, createdÿ jobs. We understand what makes the economy hum."
Former Liberal attorney-general Tom Hughes, Mr Turnbull's father-in-law, has praised his son-in-law.
He says Mr Turnbull is a man of conviction and principle.
"Well, I don't think Malcolm would ever be captive to an ideology in which he wasn't convinced. He is a true Liberal, in the sense of a moderate Liberal, and I hope very much -- and expect -- that he will prevail."
The Prime Minister says he would not strike a deal with the Independents if the election produces a hung parliament.**
But he says he does not believe that situation will arise.
"I urge all Australians to think very carefully about the choice they are to make. Just a few thousand votes across a handful of seats will decide if the Greens and the Independents will once again be calling the shots, in a Shorten-Labor-Greens minority government. A vote for any candidate other than a Coalition candidate is a vote for this chaos."
Some recent opinion polls place Labor slightly ahead after second-preference votes, while others place the Coalition in front.
But more voters still nominate Mr Turnbull over Mr Shorten as their preferred prime minister, and more still think the Liberal-National coalition, not Labor, will win.
The Coalition now holds a comfortable majority of 21 seats in the House of Representatives.
If the Coalition wins but with a much reduced majority, Mr Turnbull, far from being the solution to Australia's troubled political landscape, could become part of the problem.
Then he would risk the same fate as his predecessor.
