Nothing magical about the hollow men. THE term hollow men is this year's Canberra cliche.
I urged Gillard to challenge Rudd: Bill Shorten. Rudd had to go: Bill Shorten Bill Shorten has denied it was just factional leaders who wanted to dump Kevin Rudd. 29, 2010 Labor factional warlord Bill Shorten has admitted he urged Julia Gillard to challenge Kevin Rudd for the prime ministership last week.
I concede it was done quickly and I can understand a fair amount of shock, but it wasn't done on the basis of an opinion poll. Who the hell is Bill Shorten? - All Men are Liars - Executive Style - Sydney Morning Herald Blogs. Here's the thing, Tony: I'm actually less likely to vote for Labor because of the way Julia Gillard has shamelessly shimmied into the PM's job like it was a pair of undies she just happened to find in the foyer of Parliament House.
Her claims that she took the gig only when the inevitability of the move against Rudd became clear sounds like a cheating wife rationalising her infidelity by saying "everyone was doing it". Here's the rub, Ms Gillard: if you hadn't said "yes", Rudd would still be there. You were the trigger woman and I'd have more respect for you if you just admitted it instead of regurgitating "a good government had lost its way" like the defence lawyer for a very dubious client. However, Tony, what really pissed me off was watching some bloke named Bill Shorten on Q & A, talk about the selfless, patriotic agony he went through deciding who would be the new leader of my country.
You're damn right there, Bill. Parties - not the people - choose leader, says Hawke. IF ANYONE else knows how Kevin Rudd feels at the moment it should be Bob Hawke.
Yet the only other Labor prime minister to be overthrown by his own party in the postwar era has vigorously defended the party's right to tear down the leader. "It's not pleasant to be deposed," Mr Hawke said. "But there's no question about the right of the party to change leaders," he told the Herald yesterday.
Advertisement "No one can speak on that subject with greater authority than myself. " Emotional Rudd bows out - ABC Canberra - Australian Broadcasting Corporation. By online political correspondent Emma Rodgers Updated June 24, 2010 14:55:00 An emotional Kevin Rudd has broken down in his final press conference as Prime Minister at Parliament House.
Flanked by his family, Mr Rudd, who was replaced by Julia Gillard in an unopposed leadership spill this morning, was forced to repeatedly pause to choke back tears as he detailed his achievements in Government. Confirming that he would contest the next election, he promised to do his all to get Labor re-elected and said he would serve "in any manner in which I can be of assistance. " "I will be dedicating my every effort to assure the re-election of this Labor Government," he said. "I'm proud of the fact that we kept Australia out of the global financial crisis," he said. "I'm proud of the fact that had we not done so, we would had had half a million Australians out there out of work. Timeline: Rudd's rise and fall. Updated Wed 22 Feb 2012, 6:56pm AEDT Kevin Rudd's resignation as foreign minister is the latest twist in his colourful career in the Labor Party.
In 2010 he became the first Labor prime minister to be ousted in their first term. Now - if he chooses to quit the party altogether - he could trigger a by-election which could topple the fragile minority Government. Here is a timeline of his career. Kevin Michael Rudd elected to federal Parliament in the seat of Griffith. Mr Rudd was handed his most coveted opposition portfolio, foreign affairs. It was as opposition foreign affairs spokesman that Mr Rudd became a rising star in Labor. November 2006. The 24 hours that changed Australian politics forever. As it happened: Julia Gillard becomes our first female PM.
1.55pm: Well, thank you so much for joining us on this live blog over the past 18 extraordinary hours. The Punch will now resume our usual daily coverage of House of Representatives Question Time here . Please join us to see how our first female Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, performs in the hot seat. 1.50pm: Greens leader Bob Brown has just described Julia Gillard as “such a high quality woman.” 1.14pm: Tony Abbott is holding a short press conference. 1.10pm: BHP has just announced it will pull it’s RSPT attack ads, as requested by the new Prime Minister. 12.58pm: Julia Gillard is about to be sworn in at Government House in Yarralumla. 12.38pm: And the press conference is over with a round of applause. 12.35pm: Gillard has indicated she has to leave soon so she’s not “diabolically late” to see the Governor-General and be sworn in. 12.31pm: Gillard said she would stay in her own home instead of the Lodge until when and if she wins a general election.
He thanks his wife and family. More here . Kevin Rudd Julia Gillard leadership spill FAQ. Julia Gillard new Prime Minister - Late Night Live - 24 June 2010. The execution of Rudd was brutally efficient: Keane - Business news, business advice and information for Australian SMEs. ABC The Drum - Murder in the party room: Rudd and the martyr complex. Updated Wed 30 Jun 2010, 12:11pm AEST There is a question that lingers.
Why, when it was becoming increasingly clear that his support within caucus had evaporated, did Kevin Rudd insist at Wednesday night's press conference that he would contest the leadership of the Labor Party? Surely he was aware of the gravity of the situation when he vowed to fight. Most commentators have put it down to Rudd's trademark determination, that extraordinary drive that catapulted him into the Labor leadership in the first place. This is the subject of David Marr's extraordinarily well-timed and much discussed Quarterly Essay, Power Trip: The Political Journey of Kevin Rudd. According to Marr, Rudd's drive is a kind of sublimated attempt to overcome the humiliations he suffered as a child, and as such, it has endowed him with an astonishing emotional resilience. "Rudd is driven by anger," Marr writes. However, in terms of its explanatory power, this conclusion is both overstated and unconvincing.
The Assassination of Kevin Rudd.