Attempted Coup Unfolds In Australia

By Darryl Mason

A dramatic night in Australian politics, as the right wing of the Rudd Labor government staged an early evening, non-military coup against the prime minister.

This is how ABC News Online broke the story just before 7pm Sydney time :

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's leadership is under siege tonight from some of the Labor Party's most influential factional warlords.

The ABC has learned that powerful party figures have been secretly canvassing numbers for a move to dump the Prime Minister and replace him with his deputy, Julia Gillard.

It appears she has rebuffed the advances, but it is a measure of the disquiet which has been building in the party since Mr Rudd's approval ratings began their precipitous slide in April.

Ministers and party members have been lining up all week to voice their support for Mr Rudd but behind the scenes, party leaders have been contemplating a leadership change.

Although Mr Rudd looks likely to survive the challenge, news of the attempted coup will undoubtedly weaken him.

It is understood that the only thing holding the Prime Minister up is that his deputy refuses to join in a bid to bring him down.

That story has been replaced by updates, and the words "attempted coup" have now disappeared from nearly all the frenzied reporting.

Ex-Australian Rupert Murdoch's media has been all but screaming for prime minister Kevin Rudd to be replaced by his deputy, Julia Gillard, for months, declaring across its pages the Rudd government was "over" shortly after prime minister Kevin Rudd's record breaking popularity ratings began to nosedive.

In a dramatic press conference at 9pm Wednesday night, prime minister Kevin Rudd announced that he would let the Labor Party vote for him or Julia Gillard to lead the country to the next election. Gillard is publicly backed by the Murdoch media, right factions of the Labor Party and one of Australia's biggest unions. The conservative opposition will now demand the federal election be held immediately, in the wake of such chaos and disruption, as they should.

The Murdoch media were delighted with the "attempted coup" :





"Defiant Kevin Rudd." Or as he was otherwise known until only a few hours ago, the democratically elected prime minister of Australia.

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