It’s official. Kevin Rudd will challenge for the Labor Leadership at 7pm tonight, with the loser promising to retire from politics. At a news conference held at 5pm, Kevin Rudd said:
“I will be a candidate… Many, many MPs have requested me for a long, long time to contest the leadership because of the parlous circumstances we now face. For the nations’ sake, it’s time for this matter to be resolved”.
Rudd also said that the voices of the Australian people have had a “huge affect on me” – more so than pressure from his colleagues. Thousands of Australians had said to him they were genuinely fearful of “what Tony Abbott would do if he won government”.
According to Michelle Grattan at The Conversation:
What was notable about Rudd’s appearance was that he played heavily to his strengths, stressing that he was acting in response to the feedback from the Australian public.
He said that “thousands” of Australians had conveyed their fears about an Abbott government and raised the prospect of the Coalition bringing back some version of WorkChoices under a different name.
Rudd didn’t try to walk away from his previous unequivocal proclamation that he would never again seek to be leader, but simply gave several reasons why he was breaking his word.
If Rudd is elected, there will be big changes in the government with Anthony Albanese expected to become deputy leader and Chris Bowen expected to become treasurer. Several ministers have said they will not serve under Rudd.
