PM Julia Gillard told to quit as bitter caucus feud breaks out

by: Samantha Maiden From: Sunday Herald Sun February 19, 2012

JULIA Gillard faced a revolt last night by marginal seat MPs who publicly called for her to resign as Prime Minister.

For the first time, marginal seat MPs including Victoria's Darren Cheeseman went public with a demand she quit to save the party.

"There's no doubt about it: Julia Gillard can't take the party forward. The community has made its mind up on her," he told the Sunday Herald Sun.

"Certainly, it would be in the interests of the party for Julia to stand down and allow (the) Government to select a strong candidate."

One of Ms Gillard's senior ministers also urged her to "resign now", as Cabinet erupted into open warfare over a leadership showdown.

"For the good of the party, for the good of the Government, she should stand down," the senior minister, who declined to be named, said.

Some supporters predicted yesterday the Prime Minister might yet be forced to spill the leadership and fight, but this was ruled a high-risk strategy because it would expose Kevin Rudd's support levels.

But the Gillard camp has not ruled out sacking Mr Rudd as the Foreign Affairs Minister.

The Gillard camp maintains she has more than 65 votes in the 103-person ALP caucus, but even her supporters concede a ballot is high-risk because it is likely to show that more than a third of MPs want her gone.

Her supporters say Mr Rudd has between 30 and 34 votes, while six are unknown.

A Labor powerbroker warned Mr Rudd was destroying the party, driving down the primary vote with relentless destabilisation.

"He's taken ALP caucus hostage," they said.

"His message is, 'I'll shoot the Prime Minister if you don't give me the job'."

But both sides believe Ms Gillard will not resign.

There were predictions Left faction powerbroker and Transport Minister Anthony Albanese or Climate Change Minister Greg Combet would be approached to serve as deputy PM if Mr Rudd returned to The Lodge.

But angry Labor MPs, including School Education Minister Peter Garrett, also publicly declared their backing for Ms Gillard - despite the fact the starting gun on a formal leadership ballot had not yet been fired.

Asked whether he had support for a leadership challenge, Mr Rudd declined to answer yesterday.

Attorney-General Nicola Roxon said Ms Gillard was "absolutely" the better choice for prime minister over Mr Rudd: "Julia has worked absolute miracles with the hand she has been dealt."

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said the Federal Government was completely dysfunctional.

"Right now in Canberra, the Government is at war with itself," he said.

"I think the Government of Australia is too important to be paralysed while the faceless men try and decide who the leader should be."

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/pm-told-to-quit-as-bitter-caucus-feud-breaks-out/story-fn7x8me2-1226274755100

I really haven't been paying any attention to all this - but is it likely that Gillard is going to be kicked out like Rudd was?

I hate that woman with no style, how man could get excited over her, my mind does not comprehend. She walk like bone stick out of bum, ugly woman from Unley.

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the fact that she is letting this run on for so long proves she hasn't got the balls to bring it to a head and deal with it...!!!!


see what i did there?!??!??!? LOL....

Made a crude remark based on her gender rather than her actual ability?

Yes, we see what you did there.

was a pun matt...DER...


ability???? what ability???

the ability to lie and bully people and get away with it....PLEASE get a life....she has no steel or guts, she is a spineless good for nothing politician devoid of morals or concious.......

So... you're holding her to a higher standard than you do other politicians why?

Gillard is easily the worst Prime Minister we've ever had. You could argue the hung parliament doesn't help, but playing the gender card just cheapens the debate and shifts the focus from the fact she can't even control her own party let alone govern the country.

just to clarify here.....i wasn't playing any gender card......

In australian colloquial terms "not having the balls" refers to not having the guts to do something......

Gee wiz you can't even have a laugh in here without getting shat upon.....#-o

She hasn't done herself any favours, but surely you can see that she was always going to be under more scrutiny than a male PM.

It wasn't you the comment was directed at dude.
Seems like you can't say anything against old Julia without notorganic insisting we're only have a go at her becuase she's a woman.
It's becuase she'd crap.

no i don't agree with that.

It's a bit hard to prove either way, because the last 3 years has been nearly completely unprecedented in our history. Let's agree to disagree.

Still, it's become increasingly hard to discern from the hyperbolic attacks from lobbyists and other vested interests and legitimate, warranted criticism. Rather than meeting criticism in a dignified way, the PM has tried a various hand of increasingly desperate politicking moves which are always doomed to fail.

Wayne Swan launches scathing attack on Kevin Rudd

From: The Daily Telegraph February 22, 2012 8:56PM

WAYNE Swan has launched a scathing attack on Kevin Rudd, accusing the former leader of putting his own self-interest ahead of the interests of the broader labour movement and the country.

"The party has given Kevin Rudd all the opportunities in the world and he wasted them with his dysfunctional decision making and his deeply demeaning attitude towards other people including our caucus colleagues," Mr Swan said.

"He sought to tear down the 2010 campaign, deliberately risking an Abbott prime ministership, and now he undermines the government at every turn.

"He was the party’s biggest beneficiary then its biggest critic; but never a loyal or selfless example of its values and objectives.

"For the interests of the labour movement and of working people, there is too much at stake in our economy and in the political debate for the interests of the labour movement and working people to be damaged by somebody who does not hold any Labor values.



Mr Swan said Julia Gillard has the overwhelming support of his colleagues.

"She is tough, determined, forward-looking, and has a good Labor heart," he said.

"She has a consultative, respectful relationship with caucus while Kevin Rudd demeaned them.

"She’s delivering major reforms, and getting things done that her predecessor could not.

"Colleagues are sick of Kevin Rudd driving the vote down by sabotaging policy announcements and undermining our substantial economic successes.

"The Labor Party is not about a person, it’s about a purpose. That’s something Prime Minister Gillard has always known in her heart but something Kevin Rudd has never understood."

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/wayne-swan-launches-scathing-attack-on-kevin-rudd/story-e6freuzr-1226278744823

Clever Kevin Rudd puts acid on Julia Gillard

by: Andrew Bolt From: Herald Sun February 23, 2012 12:00AM

NOT one person predicted Kevin Rudd would resign as Foreign Affairs Minister. That's how brilliant the move was.

Until that very second, Julia Gillard seemed to have outmanouvered him and looked certain to humiliate him in the party room next week.

But now Rudd has warned that it's game on. He's painted himself as the plucky choice of the voters, fighting the faceless men.

He's the little guy who was done wrong by silent assassins, party bosses and union heavies and the woman they installed. He won't launch a stealth attack on Gillard, he declared, as she did to him.

He'd fight out in the open, the old hypocrite declared.

And Rudd has challenged frightened MPs, already looking at polls putting Labor catastrophically behind: do you feel lucky with Gillard, punks?


Or as he put it, the question facing his colleagues is now: who is best placed to defeat Tony Abbott at the next election?

No contest, of course.

When was the last time Gillard was mobbed by crowds, as Rudd is just about every week?

And on Monday, maybe Tuesday, Rudd will have a huge ace to play when the fortnightly Newspoll comes out to remind Labor that the person killing its vote is Gillard, not Rudd.

Rudd will have one further undeclared threat to sharpen MPs' minds: reject him roundly now, and he could quit Parliament. End of Government.

Brilliant work. Turned the contest on a dime.

The past couple of days had been good for Gillard. A string of loyal ministers accused Rudd of inflating his support among MPs, robbing him of momentum.

Rudd's adviser, Bruce Hawker, had publicly claimed more than 40 of the 112 Labor MPs backed him against Gillard. Her troops, convinced this was overstated, pushed for a showdown vote next week to show his vote was fewer than 30.

Then Rudd would be sacked. Exposed and deposed. Humiliated.

Moreover, with Rudd trapped overseas on duty, Gillard had another five days of calm to show she was back in charge.

But then Rudd turned himself into a suicide bomber.

By quitting, he reclaimed mastery of his destiny, and became not the defeated but the aggrieved.

He has been careful in his plotting. No one can point to a single public comment and shout disloyal - which, of course, he is.

So-called Gillard allies weren't half so smart. Frontbencher Simon Crean, hoping to make himself the third option in Labor's leadership fight, insulted Rudd outrageously calling him disloyal, a prima donna, gutless.

Another MP, Steve Gibbons, called him a psychopath.

Did Gillard, their creation, now rebuke them for their public abuse of him? No. And so, said Rudd, he had to quit his beloved job.

As a public pitch it was perfect, reinforcing perceptions of Gillard as a dishonest, untrustworthy schemer.

Rudd now has almost a week to speak openly about how he would lead.

Will Rudd now challenge? Almost certainly - or resign.

Will he win? The numbers are not with him, but Rudd shocked waverers with his boldness. Everyone assumed he was the old Kevin, who never dared challenge unless sure to win.


Rudd tried to tell colleagues he had changed - become more consultative. But few guessed he'd changed quite this much - and they will look again. If enough do, Gillard is gone.


http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/andrew-bolt-kevin-rudds-resignation-a-masterstroke-no-one-saw-coming/story-e6frf7jo-1226278681742