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| Australia’s Leader Ousted in Vote by Her Own Party | Australia’s Leader Ousted in Vote by Her Own Party |
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| SYDNEY, Australia — The former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Wednesday pulled off one of the most sensational political comebacks in this country’s history, ousting in a party vote the woman who replaced him as leader of the Labor Party in a 2010 party coup, Prime Minister Julia Gillard. | SYDNEY, Australia — The former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Wednesday pulled off one of the most sensational political comebacks in this country’s history, ousting in a party vote the woman who replaced him as leader of the Labor Party in a 2010 party coup, Prime Minister Julia Gillard. |
| The victory by Mr. Rudd in a closed-door vote late Wednesday paves the way for an end to the rocky tenure in power for Ms. Gillard, who had called the surprise vote in an attempt to head off a challenge from his backers. Much of the momentum to reinstate Mr. Rudd came from a steady drumbeat of polls showing that the party under Ms. Gillard was almost certain to face a catastrophic loss in elections to be held in September. | The victory by Mr. Rudd in a closed-door vote late Wednesday paves the way for an end to the rocky tenure in power for Ms. Gillard, who had called the surprise vote in an attempt to head off a challenge from his backers. Much of the momentum to reinstate Mr. Rudd came from a steady drumbeat of polls showing that the party under Ms. Gillard was almost certain to face a catastrophic loss in elections to be held in September. |
| Ms. Gillard became Australia’s first female prime minister in a 2010 party coup that ousted Mr. Rudd, who was derided during his tenure for an authoritarian leadership style. But she has seen her poll ratings plummet since announcing in January, unusually early, that federal elections would be held in September. | Ms. Gillard became Australia’s first female prime minister in a 2010 party coup that ousted Mr. Rudd, who was derided during his tenure for an authoritarian leadership style. But she has seen her poll ratings plummet since announcing in January, unusually early, that federal elections would be held in September. |
| Ultimately, Ms. Gillard was never able to fully cement her position as leader, owing in part to the manner in which she came to power. She also faced a relentless political opposition that worked hard to deny her the kudos a different leader might have received under similar circumstances and with a similarly wide range of legislative accomplishments. | Ultimately, Ms. Gillard was never able to fully cement her position as leader, owing in part to the manner in which she came to power. She also faced a relentless political opposition that worked hard to deny her the kudos a different leader might have received under similar circumstances and with a similarly wide range of legislative accomplishments. |
| Late Wednesday afternoon, a Labor Parliamentarian, Chris Hayes, announced to reporters that Mr. Rudd had won the party’s backling during a nearly hourlong session. | Late Wednesday afternoon, a Labor Parliamentarian, Chris Hayes, announced to reporters that Mr. Rudd had won the party’s backling during a nearly hourlong session. |
| “It is Kevin Rudd 57 votes, Julia Gillard 45 votes, " he said. | “It is Kevin Rudd 57 votes, Julia Gillard 45 votes, " he said. |
| Despite Mr. Rudd’s victory within his own party, he is not automatically assured of becoming the new prime minister. It remained immediately unclear whether he had enough support from the independent lawmakers whose support allowed Ms. Gillard to form a government following Labor’s disappointing showing at the last elections. The process starts when Ms. Gillard now formally asks the country’s governor general to make Mr. Rudd prime minister. | Despite Mr. Rudd’s victory within his own party, he is not automatically assured of becoming the new prime minister. It remained immediately unclear whether he had enough support from the independent lawmakers whose support allowed Ms. Gillard to form a government following Labor’s disappointing showing at the last elections. The process starts when Ms. Gillard now formally asks the country’s governor general to make Mr. Rudd prime minister. |
| Ms. Gillard’s fate seemed to be sealed Wednesday when, just moments before the party vote was to be held, a Labor Party power broker, Bill Shorten, known as one of the “faceless men” who orchestrated the previous coup that ousted Mr. Rudd in favor of Ms. Gillard, told reporters that he would be swinging his votes behind the former prime minister in an effort to salvage the party’s chances at the September election. | |
| Ms. Gillard has led a tenuous minority government since her parliamentary majority was diminished in the 2010 elections. Although she beat back a first leadership challenge from Mr. Rudd early in 2012 and another abortive challenge from his supporters in March of this year, she has since slid in the polls against Tony Abbott, the leader of the opposition Liberal-National coalition. | |
| Mr. Abbott, who polls suggest could secure a large parliamentary majority in the upcoming elections, assailed Ms. Gillard’s party as dysfunctional and urged her to call a snap election to end the political impasse. He warned voters that a change in Labor’s leadership would not translate into changes in Labor policies that have proven deeply unpopular with the electorate. | Mr. Abbott, who polls suggest could secure a large parliamentary majority in the upcoming elections, assailed Ms. Gillard’s party as dysfunctional and urged her to call a snap election to end the political impasse. He warned voters that a change in Labor’s leadership would not translate into changes in Labor policies that have proven deeply unpopular with the electorate. |
| “It seems that the Labor party caucus has not just lost faith in the prime minister but is losing faith with the Labor party itself,” he told reporters in the capital, Canberra, on Wednesday. | “It seems that the Labor party caucus has not just lost faith in the prime minister but is losing faith with the Labor party itself,” he told reporters in the capital, Canberra, on Wednesday. |
| “The Labor party may well change its leader, but it doesn’t matter who leads the Labor party, it will still be much the same government with much the same policies.” | “The Labor party may well change its leader, but it doesn’t matter who leads the Labor party, it will still be much the same government with much the same policies.” |
| It is precisely those policies that have caused the current state of disarray within the Labor Party, says Rick Kuhn, a professor of politics at the Australian National University. | |
| “I think that what’s underlain Labor’s problems is not basically issues of personality,” he said in an interview. “The issues of personality are a product of the disconnection of the Labor Party from its traditional base. And that’s a process that’s been going on for some decades, and it’s gone a very long way.” | |
| “That shift has continued under Rudd and gone further under Julia Gillard and that has meant that the main focus has been on who’s face attracts the most attention rather than policies that really intersect with the people who’ve really provided the bulk of Labor’s support really since the 1890s,” he added. | |
| Still, while Mr. Kuhn warned that Labor was headed for an electoral defeat of “historic proportions” under Mr. Rudd, he cautioned against those who would prematurely write the party’s obituary. | |
| “I don’t think this means the end of the labor party or even the end of labor’s prospects of electoral success,” he said. “I think what it represents is a further stage in a long-term degeneration of the Labor Party.” |