Julia Gillard has beaten her predecessor Kevin Rudd in a ballot for the federal Labor leadership, by a margin of 71 votes to 31.

Phillip Coorey got it slightly wrong. Can't count...

10:48am: Phillip Coorey of the SMH has tweeted that Julia Gillard won the vote 73 votes to 29.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-27/live-blog-monday/3853898

Julia Gillard's caucus has backed her emphatically. Now she must return the favour.

Between now and the next election, Gillard's fortunes will rest on the opinion polls.

Mr Rudd – accused by his colleagues of sabotaging the 2010 election campaign by leaking information damaging to Labor – said before the ballot that he was tired of being blamed for the government's problems. It was "time people accepted responsibility for their own actions", he said, in a pointed reference to Ms Gillard.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/gillards-victory-settles-question-of-who-is-the-top-dog-7441339.html

Okay you the public out there... Rudd is not a saint. He has done some quite nasty stuff... and produced only one miracle that a drover's dog could have performed anyway. That of defeating John Howard in 2007... End of story. Before that Kevin was know as Dr Death in the public servce in Queensland... No love from the MANY people he stabbed... After the 2007 election, He was DYS-FUNC-TION-AL... Read my lips: DYS-FUNC-TION-AL... He was a tonitruant thunderously rude embarrassment with little respect for other people... HE HAS NOT CHANGED... (even his wife had to reassured us "he has changed now"... BOLLOCKS). Sure in the street he is all charm, shaking the neck of the bottle with people who "adore" him... All as promoted by the media, that in the next breath would DEMOLISH HIM ruthlessly to promote Abbott. The media will pour crap on Julia but at least not much will stick...

Before Kevin was removed, his POPULOUS standings were tanking then anyway, BUT HE WAS ALSO INDECISIVE, let's SAY INCOMPETENT in governing the country... He was made an offer... He could have demanded for a caucus ballot! But he knew he would loose more than one hundred to one (or two counting his own vote)... He accepted the offer... HE WAS NOT STABBED IN THE BACK.

Julia Gillard has at least a year and half to consolidate some SERIOUS policies for the future of this country and of this planet. AND I WISH HER GOOD LUCK. If you want to throw tomatoes, throw them at me!

Kevin Rudd's camp has admitted they may have misjudged the situation after his thumping loss to Julia Gillard in the Labor leadership ballot.

In the lead-up to the vote, Mr Rudd's strategy was to appeal to the public to support him and prove to the caucus that he is the more popular leader.

In the end though, it was a tactic that failed to win over his colleagues and Ms Gillard won the vote 71 to 31.

Labor Party strategist and Rudd advisor Bruce Hawker says he is surprised more Labor backbenchers did not swing behind Mr Rudd.

"Well I think we may have misjudged the power of the factional leaders to really enforce the vote," he said.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-27/rudd27s-camp-27misjudged27-power-of-factions/3855348

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Politics is not or should not be a beauty contest. KRudd pissed on the Labor party and his camp was deluded as to Mr princess-Popularity parade... He should not have been rewarded — even if he's more populously popular than Gillard (thank you Mr Murdoch)... When Abbott asked The prime Minister why on one day she suggested that Kevin was like psychopath, etc... and three days latter thanked KRudd for his contribution to this nation, etc etc  — after KRudd was defeated in the Caucus — the answer is simple: Government is not one person... despite KRudd antics, the government performed, albeit under difficult circumstances... It would have been pissy for Julia Gillard to drive the knife further into KRudd, who hopefully will behave like an obedient puppy on the back bench... Meanwhile, the AIM is to DEFEAT Abbott who, himself, is not far from being a psycho. Our only chance now is to support JULIA GILLARD, independents who support her or the Greens.  Take your pick. Anything less and we'll be letting ourselves down... We do not have to agree with everything she does but by and large, we'll have to manage our dislike or like of her manners — which I must say are quite Keating-esque in Parliament.

During her address, Ms Bishop riled the government benches by noting that Ms Gillard had only a ''passing acquaintance with the truth''.

The vote was lost 69 to 72.

Not all members of the House of Representatives made it through this afternoon's session.

Opposition finance spokesman Andrew Robb was kicked out in the opening minutes, while Nationals leader Warren Truss and health spokesperson Peter Dutton also did not survive.

On the government side, the member for Eden-Monaro - and habitual heckler - Mike Kelly was kicked out as Mr Abbott moved to suspend standing orders.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/backbencher-rudd-the-centre-of-attention-20120227-1tycm.html#ixzz1nZ0K9442

Meanwhile Tony Abbott and Julie Bishop have no idea where to find the truth... They keep on lying and lying and lying...

Those ministers who came out for Rudd were largely the ones demoted by Gillard: Kim Carr, Chris Bowen and Robert McClelland. The only person of significance was a weepy Anthony Albanese (why is it Labor strongmen resort to tears on occasions like this?) and Albo had been the numbers man on the last occasion. He was not a convert to the ''new'' Kevin. He was the last man standing with the ''old'' Kevin.

The most damning thing for Rudd was that apart from those four, and the honourable exception of Martin Ferguson, the cabinet was against him. His support was least among those who knew him best.

Sometimes the closer you get to a person, the more you admire them. And sometimes you don't. Rudd was stronger with the public because they were too far away to see behind the cheesy and slightly nerdy public persona. Those of us who have mixed with him in the parliamentary forum know the other Kevin as well. This time the Gillard forces were determined to shine the spotlight on that other Kevin.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/gillard-a-prisoner-of-the-polls-and-rudds-inability-to-change-20120227-1tysn.html#ixzz1ndyAd8Wk

It seems Peter Costello saw the light long ago and got out of politics... Cheesy and slightly nerdy KRudd had another backside to him... Sure. we know... Rudd is not a bad fellow per se... But I know the catholics well, especially those in politics, they err on the side of revenge and gloriousity, they peddle the lies with extraordinary finesse or razor blades, and they don't hesitate to go to confession and ask for forgiveness for what they did deliberately... See Tony Abbott, who I must say here is far more dangerous than Rudd, at this level of deviousness...

I should be cynical about what Costello is selling today, because he tells the truth about Rudd but deliberately misses the point about Julia Gillard. Polls are only fickle figments of perception. And the media is the filter of popular perception, thus the media is more or less enforcing the status of the polls by giving the base tone. The media saw the seeds of discontent... The government has to overuse the fertilizer to make some flowers grow amongst these weeds the media keeps planting...

I supported Kevin Rudd for a number of reasons. First and foremost because he was the best person to lead the ALP to victory at the next election and thereby defend Labor's achievements in government since 2007. I believe that anyone who is committed to the Labor Party, as I am, has a duty to point this out.

I worked closely with Julia Gillard to convince the Independents to support a Labor government. So, no-one can seriously question my commitment to the ALP. My vocal support and active involvement in its debates will continue despite not being an elected representative. And, along the way, I intend ruffling a few feathers now and then, if I think that's going to improve our prospects of winning the next election.

Now however, as everyone agrees, it's time to heal the wounds from the recent scrap. The Labor Party is 121 years old. It's a scarred old warrior and has recovered from much bigger fights than this. But it must never allow itself to become disconnected from the Australian electorate. It's as simple and as complex as that.

http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/3860106.html?WT.svl=theDrum