Australia's Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd resigns

[cal04]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17123397

Australia's Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd has resigned amid widespread reports of a leadership tussle between him and Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

He made the announcement at a press conference in Washington DC, where he had earlier met US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton.

There has been ongoing tension in the Labor Party in recent weeks over the leadership.


Kevin Rudd quits as foreign minister
Mr Rudd made the dramatic announcement at a media conference in Washington DC, as Julia Gillard prepared to sack the Foreign Minister amid claims by her supporters he has been disloyal.

Mr Rudd says he'll return to Brisbane on Friday and will make a full statement on his future before parliament resumes on Monday after consulting with family and colleagues.

“While I am sad to leave this office I am sadder still that it has come to this,” Mr Rudd said.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/in-depth/kevin-rudd-quits-as-foreign-minister/story-fnccyr6m-1226278546981

Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd resigns as Foreign Minister
http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/former-prime-minister-kevin-rudd-resigns-as-foreign-minister/story-e6frfku0-1226278542431

[Matilda]

1. Rudd has taken the initiative,

and with it the moral high ground.

"He said he would not be involved in a "stealth attack on a sitting prime minister" and that the future of the ALP depended on removing the influence of factions within the party."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/


A direct shot at the faction leaders who moved on him in the night 20 months ago.

A very courageous move, and not the end of the matter by any means.

[Number23]

2. The man is a master

What happened to him when he was deposed as Prime Minister should be illegal imho. He has taken (publicly at least) the high road and once again made Gillard look like a total amateur, and a reprehensible one at that.

[Matilda]

3. Amen to that.

She has shown herself to be a spiteful and vindictive woman, hiding behind her "advisers" while resorting to dirty tricks to discredit Rudd. I have lost any respect I ever had for her over the past couple of weeks; she's got more and more pathetic.

Rudd on the other hand has been dignified and statesmanlike all through the barage that has been thrown at him from the Gillard camp. Pity she's never gone after Abbott with the same savagery that she's shown towards Rudd.

[Fool Count]

4. Nothing could be more pathetic than serving her personal ambition by becoming a pawn of the mining

oligarchs. At least for a Labor politician. The coup that brought her to power had only one real goal - stopping the mining tax.
The "faceless men" of Labor fractional politics are just corrupt bagmen for transnational business interests.

[Number23]

5. Anyone up for the job?

http://nowhiring.com.au/424936+job+Prime+Minister+of+Australia+ACT.aspx

"In addition, your office will be staffed by a team of dedicated and competent casuals and volunteers. Note that these groups are separate; the dedicated individuals are not competent, and the competent individuals are not dedicated."

"...You may at times be required to work longer than the specified 38 hour work week; however, this should not be too inconvenient as the position is expected to be temporary."

[Matilda]

6. From Malcolm Farnsworth on ABC Online today:

Julia Gillard may treat the other 102 caucus members respectfully, as Wayne Swan claimed last night. She may smile at them and make them feel consulted. She may master her brief and get on well with the public servants in Canberra. She may navigate the hung parliament with skill.

But in the broader community she is electoral poison: disliked, distrusted and dismissed.

That is why Kevin Rudd is on a plane flying home to Australia today. He is the anti-Gillard. If she was any good, he wouldn't even matter.

The Praetorian Guard that surrounds Gillard knows it. Their fear has been on display all week, particularly from ministers like Simon Crean. Ponder the significance of what he did on ABC radio on Monday. This senior minister, a former party leader, lashed the absent Rudd with relish, all the while professing loyalty to the "team". Naturally, he denied any ambition for the title of "third candidate". He kicked off a week of blaming Rudd for Gillard's woes.

http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/3846650.html


This is Labor's real dilemma - do they want someone who makes them feel good about themselves, or do they want to win the next election?