Gillard Says FM’s Resignation 'Disappointing' Surprise
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said she was "disappointed" the man she deposed as leader, Kevin Rudd, had not discussed plans to resign as Foreign Minister or raised his concerns with her.
Rudd resigned his post at a dramatic midnight press conference in Washington, saying he had lost the confidence of Gillard amid speculation he was preparing a leadership challenge and would return home to consider his future.
Rudd was replaced as Australia's prime minister in a shock party-room ballot in June 2010 by Gillard, who was then his deputy.
"I am disappointed that the concerns Mr. Rudd has publicly expressed this evening were never personally raised with me, nor did he contact me to discuss his resignation prior to his decision," Gillard said in a brief statement.
"I plan to hold a press conference tomorrow to make a further statement."
Sky News said Gillard would use the press conference to announce that a leadership ballot would take place on Monday, though her office refused to confirm the reports.
"We can't comment on the content of the press conference," a spokesman said.
Australia's Labor government has been torn by speculation about whether Rudd, who Gillard suddenly ousted as a prime minister in mid-2010 but who remains hugely popular with voters, would mount a bid to return to the top job.
Analysts believe Rudd still does not have the votes to topple Gillard in any immediate leadership ballot among the 103-strong Labor caucus, but his move compounds the woes of the unpopular and fragile coalition government.
Gillard has insisted she will lead Labor into the 2013 election and reports, which her office refused to comment on, said that she intended to call a leadership ballot early next week.
But Treasurer Wayne Swan released a scathing statement, accusing Rudd of "dysfunctional decision making" and a "deeply demeaning attitude towards other people including our caucus colleagues".
"He was the party's biggest beneficiary then its biggest critic, but never a loyal or selfless example of its values and objectives," Swan said.
Rudd, a globe-trotting diplomat, has abandoned his duties in the US to other officials and leaves Trade Minister Craig Emerson as acting foreign minister. He is expected to arrive inAustralia on Friday to plan his next move.
But he noted that the leadership speculation had become something like a "soap opera" and was a distraction from the real business of government and left opposition leader Tony Abbott on track to win the next election.
"While I am sad to leave this office I am sadder still that it has come to this," Rudd said, adding that in recent days there had been public attacks against his integrity by Labor Party members, including ex-leader Simon Crean.
"When challenged today on these attacks Prime Minister Gillard chose not to repudiate them. I can only reluctantly conclude that she therefore shares these views," he said.
In a swipe at the power of the "faceless men" -- a reference to factional figures in the Labor Party who backed his ousting -- Rudd said: "Australia must be governed by the people, not by the factions".
He also vowed to never support a "stealth attack on a sitting prime minister elected by the people", invoking his June 2010 deposing by Gillard, then his deputy, who challenged him for the leadership and prompted his resignation.
Rudd's ousting took most Australians by complete surprise, and his treatment still stirs some sympathy among voters.
He became prime minister in 2007 after a landslide electoral win that ended more than a decade of conservative rule. But he was ousted in June 2010 in a party-room vote after losing the support of Labor's factional leaders.
Gillard leads a fragile minority government with the help of independents and a Greens MP after failing to secure Labor a majority at a 2010 election.
Source: Agence France Presse
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