Australian leader Julia Gillard vows to cling on to power

The Galaxy poll of 1,019 people showed Labour’s vote had dropped to just 30
per cent – from 34 per cent in January.

It also found that 54 per cent of voters thought that Gillard’s reluctance to
demand the resignation of Mr Thomson and Mr Slipper was poor political
judgment.

Mr Thomson is accused of using the credit card of his former employer, a trade
union, to pay for prostitutes, lavish meals and to get cash advances.

Mr Slipper is alleged to have sexually harassed a staffer with explicit text
messages and inappropriate comments, as well as misusing taxi travel
vouchers.

Both men strongly deny the claims but Ms Gillard said the allegations had
challenged the public’s ability to respect parliament.

The scandals have increased speculation that Ms Gillard, who scraped into
power after 2010 elections resulted in a deadlocked parliament by forming a
coalition with a Greens MP and several independents, may face a new
leadership challenge.

The loss of Mr Thomson reduces Labour’s numbers in the 150-seat House of
Representatives and she must rely on the support of a Greens MP and two
independents to have control of 74 votes. The opposition controls 73 votes.

Gillard saw off a leadership ballot against former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd
in February, crushing him 71 to 31 in a Labour Party room vote, but
speculation is mounting that her time is running out.

Trade Minister Craig Emerson said he had not spoken to Labour colleagues about
dumping Ms Gillard, but said there was “always chatter about this sort
of thing”.

He added: “Her job is safe because she is a leader with gutsy
determination.”

Source: AFP

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