Australian PM calls leadership ballot
2013-03-21 08:59
Canberra - The Australian government plunged into crisis
with Prime Minister Julia Gillard caving in to building pressure and calling a
leadership ballot of her ruling Labour party for later on Thursday.
Her decision follows senior cabinet minister Simon Crean
openly calling for the move with Gillard lagging badly in opinion polls just
six months out from national elections and rampant leadership speculation.
"I have determined that there will be a ballot for the
leadership at 16:30 today. In the meantime, take your best shot," she told
parliament.
She added that the vote of Labour parliamentarians would
also be for the deputy leadership.
Former prime minister Kevin Rudd, who was brutally ousted by
Gillard in mid 2010, was expected to step forward as her main challenger, but
was yet to make his position clear.
He resigned as foreign minister and challenged Gillard for
the leadership in February 2012, but lost 71-31 and has since repeatedly
pledged not to do so again.
Crean, another former Labour leader and a party elder,
cranked up the pressure on Gillard earlier in the day, siding with Rudd and
saying the "stalemate has to end" to prevent the party from
imploding.
"Something needs to be done to break this deadlock, to
resolve the issue once and for all," he told reporters in a second
hastily-called press conference of the day in Canberra.
"I am asking her to call a spill [vote] of all
leadership positions."
Crean, who warned the leadership speculation was
"killing" the party, said he would stand for the deputy leader role,
currently held by Wayne Swan.
Media reforms
Crean met with Gillard on Wednesday evening and again
Thursday to inform her of his decision, and said if she won the ballot he would
resign.
Asked if she could win the election, Crean said: "The Labour
party can win the election."
While Rudd has repeatedly pledged not to make another
attempt on the leadership his supporters have been campaigning behind the
scenes and Crean said he must declare his intentions.
"He has got no option but to run," Crean said.
"I don't want any more games, I'm sick to death of it,
it's about time he stood up and instead of having his camp leak things,
actually have the courage of his conviction and his belief.
Gillard has been dogged by the speculation for weeks, with
rumours fuelled by a government decision to try and introduce media reforms
which the industry has united to fiercely oppose.
Reports said the government was expected to withdraw its
media reform bills from parliament on Thursday in what would be a crushing
failure for Gillard.
Some ministers have stressed their loyalty to her, but
reports have said any leadership vote between the two would be tight.
Gillard became prime minister in mid 2010 when she ousted
Rudd, who at the time had lost the support of powerful factional leaders.
She called an election which she failed to win outright from
the surprised public, gaining power only after cobbling together a coalition
with a Greens MP and several rural independents to form a majority in the lower
house.
