Cautious media welcome for 'Gillard Revolution'
Saturday, 26 June 2010
Australian press cautiously welcomed the country's first woman prime minister Friday but expressed concerns over her controversial sweeping aside of tearful ex-leader Kevin Rudd.
Newspapers ran extended-length editions about Rudd's uncompromising party-vote dismissal by his former deputy under titles such as "The Gillard Ascendancy" or "The Gillard Revolution".
"What a day," the Sydney Morning Herald declared on its front page. "Who would have thought they would live to see a female prime minister sworn into office by a female governor-general?"
The tabloid Daily Telegraph ran a souvenir edition headlined "She's The Boss", calling Thursday's leadership coup "Gillard's Date with History", while The Australian said it was a decisive break with Rudd's administration.
"The greatness of Australia was on display yesterday when a migrant woman became the nation's 27th prime minister," an editorial in The Australian read.
"For parents hoping their daughters will enjoy the same opportunities as their sons the sight of a female governor-general swearing in a woman as prime minister is an inspiration."
Veteran political correspondent Patricia Karvelas said Gillard's impressive parliamentary performances "shone a light on Rudd's weaknesses".
"Now the understudy who always seemed to steal the show finally gets the lead role," she said.
But the enthusiasm for Gillard, described by the Telegraph as "a natural leader", was tempered by analysis of the faceless backroom plotting that brought her to power.
"There was nothing humble about the speed with which she dispatched Rudd," wrote the Telegraph's Paul Toohey. "She revealed a level of controlled ruthlessness that many suspected existed but doubted they would see until after the 2010 election."
The Australian said it was a "stab right from the heartland" for Rudd, and had been driven by the "pure terror of possible defeat".
"This leadership change shatters the rule book of Australian politics," said Paul Kelly, the newspaper's editor-at-large, declaring sentimentality in the Labor party to be "dead". — AFP
Newspapers ran extended-length editions about Rudd's uncompromising party-vote dismissal by his former deputy under titles such as "The Gillard Ascendancy" or "The Gillard Revolution".
"What a day," the Sydney Morning Herald declared on its front page. "Who would have thought they would live to see a female prime minister sworn into office by a female governor-general?"
The tabloid Daily Telegraph ran a souvenir edition headlined "She's The Boss", calling Thursday's leadership coup "Gillard's Date with History", while The Australian said it was a decisive break with Rudd's administration.
"The greatness of Australia was on display yesterday when a migrant woman became the nation's 27th prime minister," an editorial in The Australian read.
"For parents hoping their daughters will enjoy the same opportunities as their sons the sight of a female governor-general swearing in a woman as prime minister is an inspiration."
Veteran political correspondent Patricia Karvelas said Gillard's impressive parliamentary performances "shone a light on Rudd's weaknesses".
"Now the understudy who always seemed to steal the show finally gets the lead role," she said.
But the enthusiasm for Gillard, described by the Telegraph as "a natural leader", was tempered by analysis of the faceless backroom plotting that brought her to power.
"There was nothing humble about the speed with which she dispatched Rudd," wrote the Telegraph's Paul Toohey. "She revealed a level of controlled ruthlessness that many suspected existed but doubted they would see until after the 2010 election."
The Australian said it was a "stab right from the heartland" for Rudd, and had been driven by the "pure terror of possible defeat".
"This leadership change shatters the rule book of Australian politics," said Paul Kelly, the newspaper's editor-at-large, declaring sentimentality in the Labor party to be "dead". — AFP