Something about the highest position in Australian politics saps the life from those who achieve it, and Malcolm Turnbull is the latest case. 

The Prime Minister entered the job with flair, enthusiasm, charm and a confident, almost swaggering charisma. 

He appears at media conferences now drawn, tired-looking and depleted. 

The bullish former investor, steeped in a barrister’s background, was once someone to seize the moment and take risks. Sometimes it got him into trouble, and as former Prime Minister Paul Keating reportedly once said, his weakness was his lack of judgement. 

Never more obvious during his stint as opposition leader during the Godwin Grech saga.

When he became PM, he appeared to play with a hapless-looking opposition leader like a cat with a mouse in Parliament. It looked like sparring with Bill Shorten was going to be all too easy, Wallabies v the under 15s from the local park.

Now we see an oddly cautious Prime Minister failing to inject much in the way of national vision in the election. All those things that were once his strengths – big ideas, optimism, energy, risk-taking – are strangely missing.

The Prime Minister’s office did similar things to Julia Gillard, a high-performing minister who failed to communicate with the electorate in the top job and seemed to drift between crises. Kevin Rudd couldn’t handle the role’s pressure and flew off the rails.

Perhaps the PM’s job today is like Australia’s own political version of Harry Potter’s Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher position. A revolving door of people who fall under the curses parcelled with the job, which somehow brings out their flaws.

What will bring back the Malcolm Turnbull we’ve grown accustomed to?

The most obvious thing is an election win. A mandate will give Mr Turnbull the confidence he needs to speak openly without fear of internal critics and electoral consequences. 

But what will win him an election is a return to that former self. It’s a chicken and egg problem. Voters can smell his fear and caution. His falling poll numbers show this.

If Mr Turnbull wants momentum back, he’ll need to seize the day.