Three years on, Kevin Rudd snatches back role as Australia's PM as Julia Gillard loses Labour party leadership ballot
In an
extraordinary turnaround in political fortunes, Australia's former prime
minister, Kevin Rudd, wrested the top job back today from Julia Gillard, who
ousted him nearly three years ago to the day.
Mr Rudd, who was
publicly tearful after being deposed in June 2010 and since then has plotted
almost incessantly to regain office, was expected to be sworn in as prime
minister tomorrow morning by the Australian Governor-General, Quentin Bryce,
after Ms Gillard, 51, formally resigned tonight.
In a piquant twist,
Ms Bryce's son-in-law, Bill Shorten, played a pivotal role in the downfall of
Australia's first female leader. An influential figure in Ms Gillard's Labor
Party and prime mover in the 2010 coup, Mr Shorten publicly switched support to
Mr Rudd 20 minutes before Labor politicians voted in a leadership ballot.
Once close
colleagues, Mr Rudd and his former deputy had become sworn political foes.
Although their enmity remained largely unspoken, Gillard loyalists had
denounced him as "dysfunctional", "deeply flawed" and
"a psychopath with a giant ego".
Such quotes have
been seized on by the conservative Liberal Party, and are already being aired
in TV advertisements which are expected to be frequently replayed in the
run-up to an election later this year.
Today's dramatic
events lanced the boil which had been festering at the heart of Australian
politics since Welsh-born Ms Gillard became prime minister. After the ballot,
which Mr Rudd won by 57 votes to 51, an at times emotional Ms Gillard said she
would retire from politics at the election.
It was poor polls
which led to the 55-year-old Queenslander being knifed during his first term in
office - an unprecedented event in Australia. And it was even poorer polls that
led to a second sitting prime minister being dumped, amid predictions of the
biggest landslide defeat for Labor for generations.
Mr Rudd - who may
bring forward the election, set for 14 September - enjoyed widespread
popularity after he was elected in 2007, ending 11 years of conservative rule.
His ratings plummeted after he announced a new tax on wealthy mining companies,
and abandoned an emissions trading scheme.
After he was
unseated, the public took to him again, and polls have consistently shown that
Labor would fare much better with him at the helm. However, it is doubtful
whether he can actually win the election, rather than just saving seats. One
commentator compared the leadership change to "putting a new collar on a
three-legged dog".
Source: The Independent
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