Jamie Briggs (Mayo, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

This week we have seen the first public signs of the internal battles going on in the background within the Rudd government. An explosive article by James Massola and Chris Johnson appeared in the Canberra Times last Saturday that has flashed a spotlight on the backroom dealings of this government. The article outlines in very careful detail just how advanced the plans are for a transition from the current Prime Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister. The plans are particularly being developed by the dominant right-wing faction of the Labor Party. The article makes plain that senior figures on that side of the House have had enough of being bullied by this Prime Minister or, as some Labor members are describing it, being ‘keneallyed’ by him. These Labor members want to move the leadership sooner rather than later to the more agreeable Deputy Prime Minister.

Following the Canberra Times article, the story was given additional lift yesterday morning when the well-known supporter of the Deputy Prime Minister, the member for Corangamite, spoke on the doors of his desire for the Deputy Prime Minister to become the Prime Minister. You can start to see the chess pieces being strategically moved around the building. The assumption is that this will occur post the next election and certainly that is where the smart money is right now. One punter has decided to put $2½ thousand with Centrebet that it will happen sooner.

The Prime Minister is so nervous that, thanks to the work of Simon Benson from the Daily Telegraph, we know that key factional players were summoned to his office on Monday night for crisis talks. What is interesting is the pace at which Labor members are keenly positioning for the Gillard prime ministership.

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