First woman Aussie PM exits politics
8 Sept 2013 4:42 AM IST
Australia's first female prime minister, Julia Gillard, quietly exited politics on Saturday, congratulating the woman who has taken over her constituency as Labour faced defeat in national elections. The 51-year-old opted not to stand in the polls after being dumped as Labour leader in June and has stayed out of the spotlight since. As election results came in on Saturday, she emerged from her self-imposed silence to congratulate the successor in her Melbourne seat of Lalo, Labour candidate Joanne Ryan.
‘She'll be a strong and articulate voice for a proud community we both love,’ Gillard said via her Twitter account.
She became prime minister in 2010 when she led a party room coup against then-Labour leader Kevin Rudd, in a move which shocked the nation but was designed to end months of dysfunction within the government. Gillard called an election shortly afterwards but her campaign was rocked by leaks and her subsequent three years of minority rule were wracked by Labour infighting which grew more pronounced as she failed to turn around dire polls.
‘She'll be a strong and articulate voice for a proud community we both love,’ Gillard said via her Twitter account.
She became prime minister in 2010 when she led a party room coup against then-Labour leader Kevin Rudd, in a move which shocked the nation but was designed to end months of dysfunction within the government. Gillard called an election shortly afterwards but her campaign was rocked by leaks and her subsequent three years of minority rule were wracked by Labour infighting which grew more pronounced as she failed to turn around dire polls.
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