cynicalRudd was the fourth leader that Labor had seen since 2000; we sincerely hoped that there would be some stability in the top spot now. However once in the PM role there were some pretty disturbing reports circulating about his leadership style, and this came to a head in June 2010 when, during a tour of the UK, I awoke one morning to learn that KRudd had been deposed, and Julia Gillard had been installed as the Prime Minister.
Rudd never really went away, though, and seemed to delight in undermining everything that Julia tried to do. It wasn't bad enough that she was having to deal with things that a male PM would never have to deal with, especially recently when faced with horrible comments about her father's death, and her partner's sexuality - she also had the smiling assassin doing his dirty work in her shadow.
And tonight, faced with polls showing that Labor will suffer an overwhelming loss in the coming election, Julia announced a leadership ballot. Kevin Rudd emerged victorious from the Labor Caucas meeting and is expected to be re-installed as Prime Minister tomorrow. Blue tie and all. And that disgusting little self-serving weasel Bill Shorten will be there with his hand out, reminding Rudd that he delivered the union vote.
What a mess. Rudd can't hope to win the upcoming election, the most he can hope for is to retain more seats than the party would have retained under Gillard. But the infighting over the last three years has done so much damage to Labor I doubt they'll regain power anytime in the next ten years.
