{{Kevin Rudd has ousted Prime Minister Julia Gillard as leader of Australia’s Labor Party.}}<\/p>\n
He won by 57 votes to 45, in a leadership ballot of Labor lawmakers.<\/p>\n
The change comes ahead of a general election due in September, which polls suggest Labor is set to lose.<\/p>\n
This is the latest twist in a long and bitter rivalry between the two politicians – but it could be the last as Ms Gillard has said she will now leave politics.<\/p>\n
“I will not re-contest the federal electorate… at the forthcoming election,” said Ms Gillard, Australia’s first female prime minister.<\/p>\n
“What I am absolutely confident of is it will be easier for the next woman and the woman after that and the woman after that, and I’m proud of that,” she added.<\/p>\n
Despite their bitter rivalry, Mr Rudd praised his predecessor, describing her as a woman of extraordinary intelligence, with great strength and energy.<\/p>\n
“Julia, as prime minister and prior to that as deputy prime minister, has achieved much under the difficult circumstances of a minority government,” he told a news conference after his victory.<\/p>\n
Mr Rudd is more popular with voters than Ms Gillard, and many believe Labor will perform better in the election under him.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, opposition leader Tony Abbott called on Mr Rudd to name an election date, arguing that it should be sooner than 14 September – the date set by Ms Gillard.<\/p>\n
“The Australian people are yearning to make a choice. The Australian people are well and truly over this low and dishonourable parliament,” he told a news conference.<\/p>\n
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