Like the President, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, elected a year earlier in similar circumstances—a highly popular left-leaning leader putting an end to a conservative government—had also succumbed to the same affliction.
Unlike the United States, where the President is the Head of State, Rudd was Prime Minister by virtue of his being the leader of the Parliamentary Labor Party which won the majority of seats in the last election. The Head of State in Australia is still the Queen of England.
Unlike the United States, where the President can be replaced during his (or, hopefully, some time in the not too distant future, her) term only through death or incapacity or impeachment, the Prime Minister of Australia can be replaced without an election being called when his (up until now the pronoun held true) party decides they want another leader.
Rudd's popularity has been plunging in the opinion polls, & with it the popularity of the Federal Labor Government. So much so that, almost inconceivable given their resounding win in the 2007 elections, they were in grave danger of being voted out of office in the elections due to be held later on this year.
There were murmurings of discontent about Kevin Rudd's leadership; but the move against him, when it came, was swift & sudden. A breaking news item on the national 7 p.m. ABC news last night reported that there had been discussions between Rudd, his deputy Julia Gillard, & senior figures in the Labor Party; three hours later Rudd called a televised news conference in which he announced that the party leader's post would be thrown open to ballot at a caucus meeting to be held at 9 a.m. the next morning, that he would be restanding for the post, that he had been elected to the post & he considered his work unfinished.
Less than 12 hours later, there was no need for a ballot. Rudd had been convinced that if he stood again for the leadership, his defeat would be humiliating such were the numbers now against him. Julia Gillard became the leader of the parliamentary party.
At noon, the new Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard, the first woman to hold the position, was sworn in by the Queen's representative, the Governor General of Australia, Quentin Bryce, who just happens to be the first female G.G. that Australia has ever had.
Julia Gillard (left) watches as Governor-General Quentin Bryce signs her commission as Prime Minister of Australia. (AAP: Alan Porritt)
3 comments:
'His only faction was Newspoll'
tryinew
So true! & that isolation meant there was no-one to warn him of what was about to happen.
The other quote I liked was:
"During an extraordinary night in Canberra, one unnamed MP reportedly said that Mr Rudd was a "cryptofascist" who had never bothered to build support within the party and was now paying for his mistakes."
I don't quite grasp how yr system works.
as for Obama he's had a good week. but I continue to be disappointd at his response to the oil spill.
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