I must hand it to Juliar as a lawyer. Her statement that she only decided to depose Rudd on the last day is like an assassin saying that he only made the decision to pull the trigger at the last moment.

The real question is how long had she been preparing. With the acceptance speech being written 2 wks ahead of time, and the polls being circulated, deposing Rudd was certainly on her mind. She made the final decision when she knew the numbers.

Shadow Ministers post above mine here gives us the answer to the question asked.
We must replace Gillard because, she guilty or not she is not believed or trusted by Australia.
Because true or not such mud sticks to her, because she lacks the understanding, A FATAL FLAW! to put her own defense in terms the public want to and need to hear.
Real doubt exists, not that she EVER should have replaced Rudd,not that she SHOULD GO NOW, but that she, in any way planned her knifing.
NSW ALP then a dirty word, unclean, and its imported problem child, standing by her side.
Drafted a plan,pushed pulled the party to behead Rudd.
And told us? it was because of polling!
Why then not polling now? far worse, watch Gillards supporters claim changing the leadership would bring about the NSW illness.
But know those who knifed Rudd have not yet cleaned the blood from two such events in NSW.
The very ones they, the perpetrators, warn us about with Gillard.
SOLIDARITY? with Gillard? each other, or the party.
Who truly thinks guilty or not Gillard could win a raffle?
Denials warnings bluff use what ever tactics you wish.
But with great certainty in the end Gillard will go must go.
Suck it up my union mates, party first not ego.

Graham, Yes, like you I'm completely at odds to why they (who ever this means) would want Rudd back, or why Gillard even gave him a portfolio after they sacked him. What went down in meeting when Gillard approached him with their secret poll? Did Rudd threaten them with a counter move? How could he have any bargaining power at all after his abysmal performance as PM. I can only surmise that we would have a very different political climate if they had replaced Rudd with Faulkner or, anyone else, rather than Gillard because the move to a female PM left them open to attacks of credibility. (I'm not being sexist here, just making what I consider to be a realistic observation about Australia's political culture, which is predominately male oriented). Gillard was perhaps the only nuetral candidate available because the right wing factions could not agree on supporting their own candidates, or indeed, were unable to put themselves forward (Combet, Shorten, et al). A return to Rudd would not create stability, if anything it would simply add more fuel to the fire and the dysfunctionalism of Labor factionalism. Gillard does not have the political skills to consolidate and calm Labor 's internal factional chaos. Abbott must do much more than be a contrarian and spell out a vision for the nation but once again, like Gillard, he appears not to have the skills required. Keating recently lamented that the absence of a grand narrative for the nation was eroding Australia's liberal democracy (or words to this effect). Where to from here?...however neither Labor or Liberal can define with some clarity where we are all right now. This political obscurantism is defining every policy debate and incident on a daily basis. I look forward to anything that will rid us of this deadlock

Rainier politics is more complex than that.
It is the spectators, those not much interested and not well informed who say who is elected.
Your view of Rudd is not shared by them.
Even I a student of politics, am unsure just why he froze.
And who else was involved in his failure.
I am content he has the intelligence if returned to change and rebuild.
If he was a cricketer he would be picked on form,as Gillard would be dropped.
Shorten is ready, but the public may not be, for him.
Rudd comes with fans/polling that gets him the baggy green.
Sexist? I think we see females well represented and if it was true we are sexist, the reverse is true ,Labor over compensates for women.
Gillard would not have become leader.
She, once from the left, is indeed lucky to be PM she was never the right person.
I ask this, as I concede she is unfit to hold her job, why is Abbott not in the spotlight for conservatives.
Can they not see he is an insult to true Liberalism?

Agree with most of your observations Belly, but I do think you give Rudd much more intellectual capacity than he deserves - he was senior bureaucrat in the Beattie Qld after Joh was ousted and was a nasty vindictive control freak. Suddenly in Qld we had all these working class Labor politicians, most of them (with the exception of unionists and lawyers) were rusted on National party voters.

Rudd does not have the intellectual prowess to lead a reformationist party. It’s just not in him because he’s never experienced a working class culture in his adult life. His narcissistic control freak psychology is at odds with the leadership skills that require one to trust the judgement of his ministers. I hope he does make a leadership challenge and I hope he loses badly, thus forever putting him in the dust bin of political history as a failed Prime minister. The Australian labor party is in a historic transition moment of political relevance, in much the same manner to The Democrats found themselves - and then spiralled into oblivion. I believe most people at the federal election will not vote for either a Labor or Liberal party, but rather the party that can convince them that they are able to get on with the job of governance for the majority of Australian peoples without the theatrics and game playing we witness of a daily basis. Rudd, Gillard, Abbott, Shorten and others have all shown to that they are incapable of grasping the idea of ‘stable government’ with a sound majority to pass legislation without being hobbled to whims of independents. I just hope the Qld election does not deliver another hung parliament, which would add to confusion everyone is experiencing about 'the role of government'.

I think we agree on some things rainier but maybe not the working class bit.
I most certainly am from that class.
And the school of hard knocks, but demand only a leader who can lead, in the right direction.
I am aware of Rudd's history in Queensland.
We should not forget how popular, for a while, the Goss government was.
True Unionist forever, I want the Union movement, 22% of the population, to not be the controllers of the ALP.
Factions exist, but seem mostly in the interests of leaders not those who create that power, members.
Rudd if he was to be the same man, must not return, but he brings votes.
And an election with Gillard leading is a lemming march.