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October 17th, 2011 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda 
South Australian Premier Mike Rann, right, with Deputy Premier John Rau. Picture: Kelly Barnes
Source: The Australian
OUTGOING South Australian Premier Mike Rann has again spoken on behalf of his deputy John Rau, claiming he was the greatest casualty of the “factional power play” that ousted him.
Since his appointment as Deputy Premier in February, Mr Rau has remained silent on the leadership and any ambitions or plans he or his dominant Right faction may have had.
But that hasn’t stopped Mr Rann in recent weeks bringing up Mr Rau and speaking on his behalf.
Mr Rann – who will be forced by Labor to step aside as Premier for Education Minister Jay Weatherill on Thursday – yesterday told ABC radio’s Sunday Profile that Mr Rau had been poorly treated.
“Well I think in a sense I was the victim of a factional power play that really didn’t involve me. The person who was the greatest casualty is the Deputy Premier, the one they asked me to mentor, John Rau,” Mr Rann said.
“And I think that, you know, it could have been done a lot better.”
A spokesman for Mr Rau this morning said: “He has nothing to say on that.”
Mr Rann said the leadership change “had betrayed undertakings that had been made for the Premier to mentor John Rau and the leaking of [the 29 July meeting] I thought was just basically fairly low-rent”.
The Premier claimed Mr Weatherill was chosen over John Rau because there was almost 50 per cent support for either candidate and there were concerns that the tensions within the party “between the Weatherill forces and people in the right would just continue right up until the next election”.
“I think that … they thought that perhaps it was better to do it now than later,” Mr Rann said.
Detailing the July 29 meeting in which he was asked to make way for Mr Weatherill, Mr Rann said he was told party powerbrokers had changed their minds from an undertaking given in February.
“What they said was that the Right had changed their mind … that they were now not backing John Rau. They’d decided to support the Left’s candidate,” Mr Rann said.
This follows The Australian‘s report last week that Mr Rann had contradicted his version of how he was dumped by Labor as South Australian Premier.
The outgoing Premier had claimed factional bosses had implored him in February to remain in the top job to mentor his newly installed deputy, John Rau, and then to stand down next year for him.
However, he had previously repeatedly insisted the powerbrokers had not decided on Mr Rau or Mr Weatherill until late July, when he was told Labor no longer wanted his leadership.
Before details of the July meeting were leaked, Mr Rann had said he would lead Labor to the next election in 2014.
He as bitterly disappointed about the leak because he had wanted to go in the same fashion as former Queensland premier Peter Beattie.
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