Australian PM Julia Gillard fights off leadership challenge again

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has survived a second challenge to her leadership but is now under pressure to bring forward September’s general election date amid accusations of“civil war” within her party.

Miss Gillard called a snap contest for the leadership of the Labor party after senior ministers claimed her predecessor and former challenger Kevin Rudd had more support and a better chance of holding on to power.

But in a day of extraordinary wrangling, Mr Rudd waited until 10 minutes before the ballot was due to take place to announce that he was not putting his name forward.

Miss Gillard then sacked regional affairs minister Simon Crean, who had called for the leadership contest, while her parliamentary secretary for Pacific affairs Richard Marles, a Rudd supporter, resigned.

Miss Gillard said: “The leadership of the Labor Party has been settled in the most conclusive fashion possible.”

The bitter rivalry between Miss Gillard and Mr Rudd has been running for almost three years since she successfully challenged him for the leadership in June 2010, making him the first prime minister to be ousted by his own party. Mr Rudd then ran against Gillard for the leadership in February last year but she won by 71 to 31.

Miss Gillard announced the September 14 election date in January in what observers saw aiming to spark a lengthy campaigning period which she hoped would wrongfoot notoriously gaffe-prone Tony Abbott, leader of the Liberal Party.

But the tactic has backfired and a poll put Labor on 31 per cent against 47 per cent for the coalition of Liberals and smaller parties.