Labor has just elected Julia Gillard as Labor Leader – and Australia’s first female Prime Minister – unopposed. Wayne Swan is her deputy – also unopposed.
Why Julia Gillard decided it was time to dump Kevin Rudd
THE final straw for Julia Gillard came early yesterday.
Angered by a morning newspaper report leaked from the Prime Minister’s office, questioning her loyalty, she called senior powerbroker and fellow Victorian MP Bill Shorten. She wanted to know what to do.
“It p***ed everyone in the caucus off,” said a NSW senior factional leader.
“And it p***ed her off, too. She has been nothing but loyal. And to have that happen was not only stupid but unwarranted.”
Just before Question Time at 2.30pm, the Deputy Prime Minister sounded out a select group of Cabinet colleagues. What should she do?
They had been giving her that answer for weeks.
Challenge him.
By late afternoon, Shorten, fellow Victorian Senator David Feeney, NSW MP Tony Burke and South Australian right wing factional leader Don Farrell went to see Ms Gillard in her office.
They had been conspiring for the past week and they wanted her to challenge.
“I’ll consider it,” she said.
The dice was rolled.
Shortly after 7pm, Ms Gillard’s office called the Prime Minister’s Office and told them that Ms Gillard wanted to see the PM.
The pair had been due to have dinner later in the evening at the Lodge. Mr Rudd was called back from a function to celebrate the 20th anniversary of parliamentary service for Senator Nick Sherry, around the corner from his office in the Ministerial wing of Parliament House.
With Ms Gillard was Defence Minister and fellow left-wing factional heavyweight John Faulkner, a NSW senator.
She informed the PM that she intended to challenge him for the leadership. She wanted a ballot. The pair remained behind closed doors for almost two hours.
…
The internal polling provided by the party’s national secretary Karl Bitar was worse than the public polling, which had already put the Government in a losing position. But Gillard’s loyalty prevented her from doing the unthinkable.
She was refusing to act.
And they were unwilling to tap the Prime Minister on the shoulder themselves.
Factional leaders said the nail in the coffin for Rudd was a dinner on Tuesday night in Parliament House for the country’s business leaders.
“His speech was pure anger and venom,” said a minister who witnessed the event.
“It was bizarre. The cream of the country’s business community were there. And they were stunned. So were we.”
What David Bartlett says:
I’ve come to know Julia Gillard well, and respect her deeply.
The rest, TT Media Release links, (Eventually, when The Government Media Unit posts it) HERE
BusinessSpectator:
I have been asked repeatedly today: “Is Australia ready for a female Prime Minister?” The question should be: “Is Australia ready for Julia Gillard?” Natasha Stott Despoja: Are we ready for Julia?
Kevin Rudd had the great misfortune to have single-handedly saved Australia from a global recession in his first 12 months. That lit a flame of hubris that has now burnt him down. When the histories of Kevin Rudd’s 941 days as Prime Minister are written, the political boffins will no doubt focus on the climate change backflip and going soft on asylum seekers, but there can be no doubt he was brought undone by the mining tax. Alan Kohler: Ignorance, hubris, failure
The Drum
Kevin Rudd’s influence within Caucus always depended entirely on his popularity outside it. When the latter collapsed, so did the former – with a savagery that is barely believable. Annabel Crabb: The King is dead. Long live the Queen
The last time you had jet-lag in a faraway country it was pretty ghastly, wasn’t it? You were suddenly awake at 3am. You couldn’t make a decision. You could barely remember your name, or how many children you had, or whether or not you were fighting with your wife. You spent loads of money on taxis rather than reading a map and walking. You spent a fortune on inappropriate gifts, and things you didn’t need. Your mental powers were a mess and hourly getting worse. You felt, in short, the way Kevin Rudd feels all the time. Bob Ellis: Sleepless in Canberra
