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| New Australia Leader’s Test: Keeping His Job | New Australia Leader’s Test: Keeping His Job |
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| SYDNEY — Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who was forced out as Australia’s prime minister in a 2010 party coup, was sworn in Thursday as his country’s leader for a second time, ending Julia Gillard’s troubled three-year stewardship of the nation. | SYDNEY — Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who was forced out as Australia’s prime minister in a 2010 party coup, was sworn in Thursday as his country’s leader for a second time, ending Julia Gillard’s troubled three-year stewardship of the nation. |
| Mr. Rudd was sworn in by Governor General Quentin Bryce in a ceremony early Thursday morning in Canberra, the capital. With Mr. Rudd now in control of the Labor Party after he deposed Ms. Gillard as its leader, attention turned Thursday toward parliamentary elections in September, which will determine whether Mr. Rudd can stay on as prime minister. | Mr. Rudd was sworn in by Governor General Quentin Bryce in a ceremony early Thursday morning in Canberra, the capital. With Mr. Rudd now in control of the Labor Party after he deposed Ms. Gillard as its leader, attention turned Thursday toward parliamentary elections in September, which will determine whether Mr. Rudd can stay on as prime minister. |
| Those who supported him must now prove he is able not only to heal a Labor Party more fractious than at any other time in recent history, but also to translate his unmatched personal popularity into an election victory for the deeply unpopular Labor Party in less than three months. By Thursday morning there were signs that the former was already proving difficult, as a raft of senior government ministers announced their resignations. | Those who supported him must now prove he is able not only to heal a Labor Party more fractious than at any other time in recent history, but also to translate his unmatched personal popularity into an election victory for the deeply unpopular Labor Party in less than three months. By Thursday morning there were signs that the former was already proving difficult, as a raft of senior government ministers announced their resignations. |
| Treasurer Wayne Swan, whose stewardship of Australia’s economy through the global financial crisis was widely admired, resigned his post and was replaced by a close confidante of Mr. Rudd, Chris Bowen. The education minister, Peter Garrett, who is most famous outside of Australia as the former singer of the Australian rock group Midnight Oil, also joined an exodus of senior ministers that included the climate change minister, the communications minister and the trade minister. | Treasurer Wayne Swan, whose stewardship of Australia’s economy through the global financial crisis was widely admired, resigned his post and was replaced by a close confidante of Mr. Rudd, Chris Bowen. The education minister, Peter Garrett, who is most famous outside of Australia as the former singer of the Australian rock group Midnight Oil, also joined an exodus of senior ministers that included the climate change minister, the communications minister and the trade minister. |
| After the vote in which Mr. Rudd deposed Ms. Gillard as head of the party, a senior Labor staffer who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media said it was unclear if Ms. Gillard’s remaining supporters would seek to destabilize Mr. Rudd’s government, something he had often been accused of doing to Ms. Gillard. | After the vote in which Mr. Rudd deposed Ms. Gillard as head of the party, a senior Labor staffer who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media said it was unclear if Ms. Gillard’s remaining supporters would seek to destabilize Mr. Rudd’s government, something he had often been accused of doing to Ms. Gillard. |
| “It’s hard to know whether or not they will engage in the kind of campaign against the new prime minister in the same way a vendetta was engaged in by the old prime minister, who’s now the new prime minister,” he said in an interview late Wednesday. “These are extraordinary times. We do not know what’s going to happen tomorrow or the next day.” | “It’s hard to know whether or not they will engage in the kind of campaign against the new prime minister in the same way a vendetta was engaged in by the old prime minister, who’s now the new prime minister,” he said in an interview late Wednesday. “These are extraordinary times. We do not know what’s going to happen tomorrow or the next day.” |
| That same sense of uncertainty has been raising concerns about the Australian economy, which has been buoyed over the last decade by record high commodities prices. Analysts say that in recent months a combination of weaker than expected demand from resource-hungry China and domestic political uncertainty has caused a dip in investor and corporate confidence. | |
| Economists and business leaders on Thursday urged Mr. Rudd, who enjoyed a famously prickly relationship with business during his first term, to move the election date forward to try to reassure investors. The elections are scheduled for Sept. 14, but could be held as early as Aug. 24. | |
| Paul Bloxham, chief economist for Australia and New Zealand at HSBC, said in a note that investor concerns were likely to continue until after the election, when the major differences in fiscal policy between the two parties are finally resolved. Tony Abbott, the leader of the opposition Liberal-National coalition, has promised to repeal both a scheme to tax and trade emissions and a tax on so-called super profits by mining companies enacted by Ms. Gillard. | |
| “An earlier election could reduce business uncertainty, although the greater popularity of Rudd, compared with Gillard, could make it a closer election and thus it could deliver a less certain mandate to govern,” Mr. Bloxham said. | |
| “Rudd’s move is likely to make the upcoming Federal election more tightly contested, which makes it less certain that Australia could have a change of government and therefore less clear that there will be a big shift in the policy environment,” he said. | |
| 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 accolades a different leader with a similarly wide range of legislative accomplishments might have received. | 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 accolades a different leader with a similarly wide range of legislative accomplishments might have received. |
| Among her significant domestic policy achievements are the emissions trading scheme, reforms to the country’s disability care system, a major workplace relations bill and her signature legislation, educational reforms aimed at making Australia’s schools competitive into the 21st century. She also deftly navigated the country’s delicate geopolitical position as both a close ally of the United States and a major trading partner of the growing regional powerhouse, China. | |
| Mr. Abbott, who polls suggest could secure a large parliamentary majority in the coming elections, painted Labor’s leadership struggle as yet another sign of his opponent’s political dysfunction. | |
| “All we’ve had for the last three years are back-room deals and back stabbing orchestrated by the faceless men who are not interested in the welfare of the Australian people,” he told Fairfax Radio on Thursday. | |
| Mr. Rudd sought to dispel that argument during a brief statement to lawmakers during his first parliamentary appearance as prime minister. | Mr. Rudd sought to dispel that argument during a brief statement to lawmakers during his first parliamentary appearance as prime minister. |
| “In this Parliament, in this place we are all human beings,” he said. “Try, just try to be a little kinder and gentler to each other.” | “In this Parliament, in this place we are all human beings,” he said. “Try, just try to be a little kinder and gentler to each other.” |