Australian PM Gillard ousted by predecessor

After three years plotting his revenge, Kevin Rudd made a spectacular return to the labour leadership and could be named Australia’s prime minister today.

Prime minister Julia Gillard was spectacularly ousted as party leader by her predecessor, Rudd, in a vote members hope will spare them a massive defeat in upcoming elections.

The ballot took place three years and two days after Gillard ousted Rudd in a similar internal government showdown to become the country’s first female prime minister.

Gillard lacked Rudd’s charisma, and although many Labour lawmakers preferred her style, her deepening unpopularity among voters compelled a majority to seek a change ahead of elections that are set for Sept 14 but could be held in August.

The 57-to-45 vote makes Rudd leader of the party. Governor-general Quentin Bryce could make him prime minister as early as today, but Rudd likely will have to demonstrate that he can command a majority of lawmakers in the House of Representatives.

Labour depends on independents and a minor party for its fragile ruling coalition, but Rudd appeared capable of retaining it after two independent lawmakers who did not back Gillard’s government said they would support his.

The ballot ends a bitter rivalry between Gillard and Rudd that helped create an atmosphere of chaos and disunity. Gillard had survived two previous attempts by Rudd to take over.

Gillard had vowed to quit parliament at the next election if she lost, and said after the vote that she would fulfil that pledge.

She said she was proud of her government’s achievements, including the introduction of an unpopular carbon tax paid by the biggest industrial polluters.

Gillard, who made international headlines for calling opposition leader Tony Abbott a misogynist, also hit back at critics who accused her of playing the gender card.

Because of her tenure, she said: “It will be easier for the next woman and the woman after that and the woman after that. And I’m proud of that.”

After her statement to the press, she went to the governor general to tender her resignation.

Deputy prime minister and treasurer Wayne Swan quit after Rudd’s victory and was replaced by Rudd ally and Transport Minister Anthony Albanese in a second ballot.

Even with Rudd in control, polls suggest Labour could still be defeated by the conservation opposition led by Tony Abbott. But if that happens, Labour lawmakers hope their losses will be smaller under Rudd than they would have been under Gillard.

Gillard threw open her job to a party leadership ballot in response to reports that Rudd’s supporters were pushing for a challenge, and he soon announced he would run against her.

“We are on course for a catastrophic defeat unless there is change,” Rudd said before the ballot. “And so today, I am saying to you, to the people of Australia, I’m seeking to respond to your call that I’ve heard from so many of you to do what I can to prevent Mr Abbott from becoming prime minister.”

Both Gillard and Rudd had pledged to quit parliament at the next election if they lost.

The two are in many ways political opposites.

Rudd has a reputation for being a masterful campaigner, but he disappointed as an administrator after taking Labour to a resounding victory in 2007.

A Mandarin-speaking former Beijing diplomat turned state government bureaucrat, he has a nerdy style that endeared him to voters. But colleagues complained he was chaotic, bad-tempered, and vicious.

Gillard proved calmer, more efficient and more popular with lawmakers, but she generated extraordinary animosity among voters, partly because she had ousted the prime minister they had elected during his first three-year term.

Rudd had been a popular prime minister who had started sliding in the polls when Gillard, then his deputy, challenged him to a leadership ballot in 2010. He did not contest the ballot when he became aware of the level of Gillard’s support and she became prime minister unopposed. Weeks later, she led Labour to a narrow election victory and formed an unpopular minority government with the support of independent lawmakers and a legislator from the minor Greens party.

Rudd supporters have been accused of undermining Gillard’s leadership from the start and have been blamed for damaging leaks against her. Those leaks partially derailed her 2010 election campaign.

Australian National University political scientist John Wanna, a Labour supporter, said Rudd has been “rewarded for three years of sabotaging the government”.

“Labour’s still going for a train crash” at the election, he said. “Half the cabinet can’t stand him.”