Australian PM calls party vote as challenger rises

CANBERRA, Australia — Prime Minister Julia Gillard put her job on the line Thursday, announcing a leadership ballot in hopes of quashing a comeback by the premier she ousted in a Labor Party coup. But Kevin Rudd's supporters said that even if Gillard survives Monday's vote, the turmoil surrounding her unpopular government will continue until she is out.

Rudd, who resigned as foreign minister Wednesday during an official visit to the U.S., told reporters in Washington that night that he thinks Labor will lose next year's elections if Gillard remains leader, and that government colleagues are encouraging him to run. But he would not say whether he would challenge Gillard in the leadership ballot of Labor lawmakers until he returns to Australia on Friday.

Gillard said she will abandon her leadership ambitions if Labor lawmakers choose Rudd over her Monday, and called on Rudd to do the same if he loses.

"We need a leadership ballot to settle this question once and for all," she told reporters.

But Rudd supporters said he would continue to destabilize the government if he lost the ballot and would try to win another ballot at a later date.

A Rudd supporter, Sen. Doug Cameron, said a Monday poll would be unfair because Rudd would not have time to canvass support.

"It's clear that some senior ministers are intent on putting a stake through Kevin Rudd's heart and I don't think that's justified," Cameron told Australian Broadcasting Corp. television.

Tony Windsor, an independent lawmaker whose support allows Labor to control a single-seat majority in the House of Representatives, warned that he could bring down the government if Rudd returned to power.

That would result in an early election if neither Labor nor the conservative opposition coalition could muster a majority.

"If that was the scenario, maybe it's time the people had their say in terms of who can govern," Windsor told ABC.

Gillard ousted Rudd as prime minister in June 2010 in an internal coup, and their center-left Labor Party scraped through elections later that year to lead a minority government. Polls now suggest Labor would suffer a devastating defeat, but Gillard maintains she has her colleagues' support.

Rudd was critical of sniping against him within the party, was plainspoken about what he saw as Gillard's dim prospects to win in a national election, and touted his own stewardship while premier of Australia's economy during the global crisis.