While the rest of the world has been focusing on the BP oil spill in the Gulf and attempting to deal with the distressing aftermath, Australians have, in the past 24 hours, been contending with another spill that has hit a lot closer to home and is guaranteed to have much greater repercussions as Julia Gillard challenged Kevin Rudd for leadership, to become Australia’s first female Prime Minister.
The appointment of Gillard as Australia’s first female Prime Minister after Kevin Rudd stepped down as leader of the Labor Party yesterday, signalled a new and tantalising era in Australian politics, one in which breaking news comes in the form of 140 characters or less, and serves as a reminder both to the Public and to the Government that public opinion is fickle and nothing in politics is ever certain.
While speculation has been rife for days as to the future of the Labor Party after NewsPoll results on Monday revealed that Opposition leader Tony Abbott was closing the gap on Rudd and increasingly being seen by voters as a possible Prime Minister, it was not until late last night during a press conference, that it became apparent that the halcyon days experienced by Rudd were much closer to its sudden demise than anyone had anticipated.
During the conference Rudd confirmed that due to growing dissatisfaction within the party and a push by Labor MP’s to have Gillard challenge his leadership, a ballot would be held during a Labor caucus in the morning to determine the future headship of the government.
But he insisted on Tuesday night that he would see the contest of his leadership through the ballot and remained confident he had enough support to beat Gillard.
Overnight Twitter feeds and online blogs speculated as to the eventual outcome, as it became more apparent that Rudd’s confidence was ill-placed and he would struggle to fend off Gillard with a convincing majority.
By early this morning, the seemingly inevitable had become a reality, when, in a decision that many have lauded as one of his few positive moves in recent weeks, he agreed to step down as Prime Minister without contest, thus saving himself an embarrassing defeat by Gillard.
By early afternoon, Gillard was sworn in as Prime Minister of Australia by Governor-General Quentin Bryce, also the first female to reach this position. It was a moment that warmed the collective hearts of feminists everywhere and effectively ended Rudd’s 2.5 year leadership.
In his final address to the nation, Rudd delivered an emotional farewell, portraying a surprisingly stoic and genuine demeanour that had been missing from his public profile in recent months, and granted him the pleasure of leaving his position with his dignity still intact, albeit hanging by a thread.
So how exactly did Rudd fall so spectacularly from his invigorating and momentous election campaign of Kevin ’07 to the brutal political execution of ‘Kevin the Lemon?’
From the beginning, his overall likability and the ease in which he presented himself in public won over the affections of the nation. The simple fact that he was not John Howard seemed to be his strongest virtue, pushing him to a solid victory in the 2007 Federal Election as Australians sought out change.
As one of his first public relations successes as PM, he offered a national apology to the Stolen Generation and delivered the apology that leaders before had refused to convey. His election victory came about in one of the most challenging economic climates, but he was able to see the country through the Global Financial Crisis in ways that so many other political leaders were unable to do.
But the $950 gift to Australians was just as quickly forgotten as it was spent, and a series of very public PR blunders and ill-advised policies saw a swift decline in the support for the Labor government as the public and the media began to see cracks in his weakening leadership. When adversity struck, Rudd found that he did not have the support of his own loyal political machine that had helped to drag him into the mess.
On his way out of government, it was clear that these huge mistakes had indeed overshadowed whatever achievements he had made. The disastrous collapse of the Emissions Trading Scheme; the catastrophically handled insulation scheme; the disaster of Building the Education Revolution; and the decision to take on the mining industry with a new tax all contributed to his demise and sent his popularity into nosedive.
While it was obvious that Labor had made significant mistakes with their policies, it became clear that Rudd’s biggest personal failure was his inability to consolidate the qualities that Australians sought in a strong leader, displaying the same robotic and rehearsed routine as he promised to save the country, one public appearance at a time. Rudd had not been able to display the natural born leader characteristics that have shaped the successes of his Labor predecessors, and had become a polarising figure to the public-instead of being relatable and genuine, he has become a figment of technocracy and rehearsed formality. And with his own admission on Tuesday night that he had “lost the support of certain factional leaders,” there was no clean way to restore his early popularity.
It became apparent in recent weeks that, with the loss of trust from the public, Rudd was not willing, nor capable, of addressing the magnitude of the problems that he faced. His collapse in the polls removed assurance that he was still likable enough to bypass the exposure of his weak leadership.
Gillard’s appointment as Prime Minister serves as an historic moment during a period of significant upheaval, and she is now left in the position of proving to Australia that she possesses strong enough leadership qualities to ride out the next elections and keep Labor in power.
Amidst growing tension and dissatisfaction with the government, she certainly has her work cut out for her. The ALP has displayed a great confidence in Gillard being capable of reforming the party and cleaning up the mess left by Rudd and she has promised that “we will get back on track.”
So is the confidence displayed by the ALP enough to ensure that Gillard’s victory will be Tony Abbotts worst nightmare or is the entanglement of the Labor party handing the victory straight back to the Coalition in time for the next election? Abbott believes that “they’ve changed the salesman but they haven’t changed the product… I think a lot of people who have watched this ugly assassination today will be very disillusioned with the Labor Party.”
But it is not Abbott that Gillard needs to prove herself to.
Gillard said that she would call an election in the coming months, so that the Australian public could officially decide whether they were ready to entrust her with the position of leadership.
These issues will continue to play out with a discerning public, who will no doubt be watching with an especially sceptical eye. Whilst Gillard is afforded the luxury of a honeymoon period and allowed to revel in the glory that comes with the position of first Female Prime Minister, she will have to act promptly and without oversight in order to regain some much needed momentum for the Labor party before the next elections.
But once the shine wears off this historic victory and the public has had the chance to well and truly exhaust the ‘ranga’ jokes, it will be straight to business for the ALP. Although her historic appointment as first Female Prime Minister cannot be understated, Gillard was in reality, an integral part of Rudd’s government and played a hand in its demise, and her leadership will be shrouded in these earlier failures. This puts her in an uncertain position for a Prime Minister who was not voted in by the public.
As the recent events have proven, 24 hours is a lifetime in politics and as the public has seen from the last few days, there are no guarantees in the political arena.
It is certain though, that the media will continue the beloved trend of analysing the hairstyles of political figures. While much was made of Rudd’s photo perfect hair styles and his sagas with hotel room hairdryers, Gillard’s new victorious hair colour has already grabbed the attention of spectators. But whether her political hard work will be strong enough to distract the media from analysing her haircuts and outfits at every public appearance will be a matter of serious scrutiny over the coming months.
While his future in Australian politics remains unclear, Rudd, said that he would recontest the next elections. But should his final attempts at a political victory not take, fake twitter account KevinRuddExPm offered some insight into a possible potential career move:
“I could still be Premier of China with my mandarin skills and love for censored internet, right? Right?”