If Rudd stayed, Labor wouldn't of stood a chance at winning the next election. Gillard at least gives them hope. It's quite spectacular seeing the most popular Prime Minister in Australian history be thrown out before even completing his first term in office.

Your Prime Minister cried while giving a speech? What a pussy.

Apparently it is the first time an elected PM has been removed before completing his first term.

I'm sad to say that I disliked Rudd as a politician and as our PM from day one. His obvious emotion at being stabbed by his deputy was the only time I ever connected at all, and got the idea that behind the facade, equivocation and broken promises he really did his best. Emotion can make someone come across well though in some cases.

Now we have a Labour PM who backstabbed the man who put her in a position of power, and who she had promised multiple times to support to the end. Abbot puts his big foot in his mouth regularly, but I'd vote for him rather than Gillard.

What an eventful time in Aussie politics, it's disconcerting how quickly such an upheaval occurred here. One of those things in life I suppose.

Lachlan wrote:

Gillard has won the vote.

Rudd has stood down.

Can a mod please change the thread title accordingly?

Done.

Lachlan wrote:

Wasn't Brown just a tired old hack bringing a government to it's needed end?

Some might argue that, but Labour's leadership contest between him and Tony Blair pre-election was very, very stiff, and an agreement was made for Blair to stand down at some point for him to take over. Of course, Tony got a bit cosy in the PM seat and stuck around for 10 years whilst, as far as British satire was concerned, Brown got more and more brooding. So he came into power in 2007 when Blair stepped down, bottled over possibly calling an immediate election and it was downhill from there, but unlike what seemed to happen with the ALP, whilst there was definitely dissent and debate amongst the Left whether he should leave, the senior party members got behind him in the end, which I think, especially in hindsight, was the best choice (could a second unelected PM in a row really survive?)

Lachlan wrote:

How often does this kind of stuff happen over there?

What? Parties ejecting their leaders whilst they're in power? I know that it certainly isn't unheard of, it happened with Margaret Thatcher.