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December 16th, 2011 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda 
Prime Minister Julia Gillard is confident she will lead Labor into the next election. Picture: Gary Ramage
Source: The Daily Telegraph
THE Prime Minister has been under siege from Tony Abbott and Kevin Rudd, but as a difficult year draws to a close Julia Gillard says she’s still standing – and more determined than ever to fight on.
Ms Gillard defiantly hit back at the relentless speculation about her leadership, declaring she would lead Labor to an election in 2013.
In an interview with the Herald Sun, Ms Gillard said Mr Abbott had failed to blast her out of office as he had boasted he would a year ago.
“We’ve had to do some very, very tough things during 2011. They’ve been challenging, complex policies that have been campaigned strongly against. It’s been a difficult year,” she said.
Labor ends the year with opinion poll ratings worse than the start of the year, and the PM’s own approval rating has dived. There is no love from voters for Tony Abbott either, but if an election were held now he would win comfortably.
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Despite Mr Abbott running a virtual election campaign all year and throwing everything at a “people’s revolt”, Ms Gillard’s fragile one-seat margin in the Parliament has become two with the change of Speaker – and that increases her chance of lasting a full term.
“Last year the Opposition Leader was welcoming people to Christmas drinks by assuring them that in 12 months time he’d be welcoming them to The Lodge,” Ms Gillard said.
“The Coalition had said it would stop carbon pricing, it would stop the minerals resource rent tax, it would stop the NBN being rolled out, and the list went on and on and on.
“Here we finish 2011, we’ve delivered those big things that have been on the nation’s agenda for some time and we are looking to build on that in 2012 – keeping the economy strong, giving people an opportunity to get ahead, doing what we need to do to make sure people don’t get left behind because of things like a disability.
“That’s, I think, what people ultimately judge on.”
But there are also rumblings in Labor ranks about her leadership and authority, some ministers grumpy after this week’s reshuffle and talk of a challenge by Mr Rudd in the new year.
The Foreign Affairs Minister repeatedly dismisses talk that he is plotting a comeback – just like when Ms Gillard said in early 2010 it was more likely she would play full forward for the Bulldogs than become PM.
Certainly, his supporters have been scathing of Ms Gillard’s performance and critical of the reshuffle.
Tensions flared when the PM did not mention Mr Rudd in her opening speech to the ALP conference but praised Labor’s other post-war PMs. The Rudd camp claimed it was a deliberate move to airbrush him from history, akin to behaviour in North Korea.
Gillard supporters hit back by leaking a secret ALP report critical of Mr Rudd’s time as leader.
Ministers are being caught in the crossfire. Resources Minister Martin Ferguson yesterday issued a statement of support for Ms Gillard, saying she was “doing a remarkable job”.
He said his words on Thursday that he was “loyal to the Labor Party” and had a professional relationship with both Ms Gillard and Mr Rudd had been misconstrued.
Kim Carr, who was demoted from Cabinet to the outer ministry, also pledged full support for Ms Gillard, but blasted some of her supporters for spreading “absolute bulls—” about the reasons for his dumping.
In a sign of tensions in the ranks, he said it was “just rubbish” that he was involved in leadership moves against her amid claims he was dumped because he was too close to Mr Rudd.
Senator Carr said “lies” were being told behind his back that he was demoted because of his performance. “That is obviously patently untrue,” he said, citing heartfelt public support and praise for his performance.
One of the biggest winners from the reshuffle, new Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten, will also be the PM’s unofficial champion in 2012, charged with boosting her and taking on the threat from Mr Abbott and Mr Rudd.
For her part, Ms Gillard brushes aside talk that it is inevitable there will be a leadership showdown.
“I’ll be leading the Labor Party into the 2013 election and what happens beyond that is a matter for the Australian people,” is her determined reply.
“In government there are the big meaningful things that make a difference and endure, and then there’s media hurly burly of every day. My focus is on the big meaningful things that endure.”
Christmas Eve will mark 18 months in the job for Ms Gillard since she toppled Mr Rudd.
She has already been in the post longer than six of the other 26 people to hold the office of prime minister, and if she keeps it for the next few months she will pass Billy McMahon and Harold Holt.
She will have to remain PM until January 16, 2013, to overtake Mr Rudd’s two years, six months and 21 days in office.
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