Yesterday, the Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard, was removed as the head of her political party, which also required her to resign from her position as prime minister. The person who defeated her was Kevin Rudd, who was also her predecessor. Gillard is Australia first female prime minster.
I am disappointed that Gillard's party voted to remove her; Gillard was one of the few female current heads of government of a major nation, and I think that losing such an important woman leader is a step backwards; for her time as the Prime Minister of Australia to end in this manner is disgraceful. She was not afforded the chance to face Australia's upcoming general election, as the men before her did in their respective elections.
Gillard has been a victim of misogyny throughout her premiership. An astounding three leadership elections were held against her and in recent weeks, she was insulted on a menu at a fundraiser for the opposition party and she was subject to homophobic abuse about her partner; her removal as party leader and subsequent resignation as prime minister were poorly timed
I'm not an expert on Australian politics, but from my foreign perspective, I didn't think Gillard was a bad prime minister at all. She seemed decent on the world stage and a couple of times when I watched her debate her opponents I thought she performed well.
Gillard has stated that she will not stand in the upcoming election and will retire from politics when this term ends; it's a shame. I do wish Gillard and Australia the best, and I hope that their next female prime minister will be strong and will have a longer period as head of government than Gillard did.
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