Quite the fall. I knew his popularity was falling but had no idea it was this serious. [quote=“BBC”]Australia’s Julia Gillard has become the country’s first female prime minister after Kevin Rudd stood aside from a party ballot.
Mr Rudd took the step in the knowledge he would suffer an embarrassing defeat, correspondents say.
His successor said the government had been losing its way and she promised to make it strong for this year’s general election.
The Labor Party had suffered a sharp drop in support in opinion polls.
Ms Gillard, who was deputy prime minister before the challenge to Mr Rudd, stood unopposed at a vote of the Labor Party’s 112 members of parliament at a meeting on Thursday morning.
Finance minister Wayne Swan was elected the new deputy leader, also unopposed.
[…]
Mr Rudd had called a late-night news conference on Wednesday to announce the ballot after Ms Gillard said she would stand.
Mr Rudd, who led Labor to a landslide election victory against the Liberal government in 2007, blamed “a number of factional leaders” within the party for plotting against him.
Announcing he would stand in the leadership ballot, a defiant Mr Rudd had said: “I was elected to do a job. I intend to continue doing that job. I believe there is a strong body of support for the continuation of my leadership.”
But the BBC’s Nick Bryant in Australia said that by Thursday morning Mr Rudd could not even muster enough support to contend the ballot.
His popularity had plummeted following setbacks on his mining tax plans and the shelving of an emissions trading scheme.
Our correspondent adds that Mr Rudd has always been more popular with the public than with his colleagues - he is regarded as intellectually arrogant and aloof.[/quote]
Actually thinking about it, the UK has had a Jew and at least one atheist from memory, so they’re way ahead. No blacks or Indians yet though, so something has to be done about that.
For those interested, our new PM is a declared atheist. The last atheist PM we had was 20 years ago. The current leader of the opposition on the other hand is religious, and once studied for the priesthood at a Catholic seminary. For this sin he is labeled ‘the Mad Monk’, a demonstration of the derision Australians typically show for politicians who dare reveal their religion. If you’re an Australian politician and you’re religious, you either need to be seriously involved in getting your hands dirty with social welfare, or you need to keep your mouth shut and pray no one sees you going to church.
Ah, the honourable Kim Campbell. What lesson does this Aussie sheila need to learn? If you want to win a campaign and stay PM, you have to fight for it, not leave your campaigning completely to your attack dogs such as John Tory. She practically spent her whole campaign back in '93 screwing her Russian boyfriend.
Was Rudd done in by the mining lobby, or did the new PM just see her chance to her place in the sun in the midst of a tough battle? Who are the power brokers in Australia. I feel sorry for Rudd because he was the one who contributed most to getting a better deal for Australians for their resources, yet he is out of a job!
and Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan…you mean having a lady PM don’t you?[/quote]
Yes, and I’m sure there are others I’ve missed like the Philippines, Iceland, Mongolia, Finland, and some of those European countries who bought all the diacritics, and those Eastern European countries who can’t afford vowels. There’s also Athaliah of Judah in the 9th century BCE, and Hatshepsut in Egypt if we want to go back as far as the 18th Dynasty during the New Kingdom (around 3,500 years ago or something). Hatshepsut is one of my favourite Egyptian monarchs, on account of the massive barges and obelisks she built. Alexander the Great was a bit of a girl too.
Was Rudd done in by the mining lobby, or did the new PM just see her chance to her place in the sun in the midst of a tough battle? Who are the power brokers in Australia. I feel sorry for Rudd because he was the one who contributed most to getting a better deal for Australians for their resources, yet he is out of a job![/quote]
Historically, the most successful Australian politicians (invariably PMs), have been extremely ugly. That’s the full scope of my understanding of Australian politics, but I can see the rule still holds.
and Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan…you mean having a lady PM don’t you?[/quote]
Yes, and I’m sure there are others I’ve missed like the Philippines, Iceland, …[/quote]
Here, I just read yesterday that the Iceland one just got married. To another bint.
Lesbo Icelandic premiers. Now that’s something most people don’t see every day!
[quote=“sandman”]Here, I just read yesterday that the Iceland one just got married. To another bint.
Lesbo Icelandic premiers. Now that’s something most people don’t see every day![/quote]
There’s a strongly held view in Australia that Guillard is a lesbian. Those who disagree point to the fact that she’s married to a male hairdresser. So do those who agree.
[quote=“Fortigurn”][quote=“sandman”]Here, I just read yesterday that the Iceland one just got married. To another bint.
Lesbo Icelandic premiers. Now that’s something most people don’t see every day![/quote]
There’s a strongly held view in Australia that Guillard is a lesbian. Those who disagree point to the fact that she’s married to a male hairdresser. So do those who agree.[/quote]
Well, she’s certainly Welsh, which kinds of trumps benderhood in the general foolery stakes.
This is something I wish we had in American politics: atheists in high office.[/quote]
This is nothing new for Australia, as I pointed out. We had an atheist PM 20 years ago. But guess what? It doesn’t make a scrap of difference. They’re still politicians, and their policies are indistinguishable from everyone else’s.
What lesson does this Aussie sheila need to learn? If you want to win a campaign and stay PM, you have to fight for it, not leave your campaigning completely to your attack dogs such as John Tory. She practically spent her whole campaign back in '93 screwing her Russian boyfriend.
