Australia's foreign minister Kevin Rudd resigned Wednesday, saying he was unable to continue without Prime Minister Julia Gillard's support, paving the way for him to make a leadership challenge. In a dramatic late-night resignation speech from Washington, Rudd said the only honourable course of action was for him to step down, as reports circulated in Australia that Gillard was preparing to sack him.
"The simple truth is that I cannot continue to serve as foreign minister if I don't have Prime Minister Gillard's support," he told reporters. Australia's Labour government has been torn by speculation about whether Rudd, who Gillard suddenly ousted as a prime minister in mid-2010 but who remains hugely popular with voters, would mount a bid to return to the top job.
Analysts believe Rudd still does not have the votes to topple Gillard in any immediate leadership ballot among the 103-strong Labor caucus, but his move compounds the woes of the unpopular and fragile coalition government. Gillard has insisted she will lead Labor into the 2013 election and reports, which her office refused to comment on, said that she intended to call a leadership ballot early next week.
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