In an 11th hour move Kevin Rudd has bowed to pressure and stood down as Australia’s prime minister, making deputy prime minister Julia Gillard Australia’s first female leader.
Mr Rudd resigned from the leadership at a caucus meeting on Thursday rather than force the party to a ballot. The challenge reared after a push late last night to oust Mr Rudd, driven by the factional power brokers within the Labor party concerned about his plummeting popularity.
Late Wednesday night Mr Rudd remained defiant and vowed to fight until the end but by early Thursday morning he was encouraged to step down.
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