Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to face leadership challenge from Julia Gillard

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will face a leadership challenge from his deputy Julia Gillard at 9am on Thursday morning after losing the support of key factional leaders within the Australian Labor Party.

In a press conference held late on Wednesday night, Rudd told reporters that he had agreed to Gillard’s request for a leadership ballot in order to have uncertainty around the ALP leadership resolved as quickly as possible.

Analysts suggest that Rudd will not win the leadership vote, which would see Gillard to become the first female prime minister in Australian history.

But Rudd, who says he is still capable of winning the ballot, has made a last-ditched attempt to win support by urging his colleagues not to allow the ALP to bend to the whim of its factions.

“I was elected by the people of Australia to do a job. I was not elected by the factional leaders of the Australian Labor Party to do a job, but they might be about to do a job on me.”

Rudd also used the press conference to remind colleagues of his Government’s key achievements, including steering the Australian economy through the GFC and health and welfare reformed.

He also lashed out attempts by factional heavyweights – said to be those from the Victorian Right – to move the ALP to the right.

“This party and Government will not be lurching to the right on the question on the issue of asylum seekers.”

Rudd also made reference to his damaging backflip on climate change, reiterating that the Government would move towards an emission trading scheme on “it’s own timetable”.

On the Government’s most recent headache, the Resources Super Profits Tax, Rudd admitted the Government had struck “heavy weather” as a result of the debate around the tax, and that had made some members of his Government “a little squeamish”.