"My bet. Rudd will chuck a hissy fit & resign from Parliment & go into diplomacy."

I'd be surprised if he did that without some other trigger. He'd need something going on where he could be the victim forced out by the actions of the PM or senior cabinet ministers.

He may well get a plausable trigger if he plays his cards right.

R0bert

The PM has retained her leadership.
It is now up to her to get on with the job.
And for Mr Rudd and the party to present a
united front and convince the Australian voters
that Labor is the party to govern Australia.

We'll have to wait and see if this is possible.
Only positive outcomes will have the results
that many in the Labor party are hoping for.

JayB and RObert,

How can Rudd have any official diplomatic role if he is not employed by DFAT ? Or am I just naive ?

Unless Gillard appoints him, for life, to replace Tim Fischer as the Aust representative to the Vatican ? Or Ireland ? Or Iceland ? That must be tempting for Gillard.

So if Rudd stays, he is a constant thorn in Gillard's side, smouldering away back there. And if he resigns from Parliament, or abstains from some crucial vote on the floor of parliament, either way this government is gone.

And Labor with it, probably forever.

Dear Joe (Loudmouth),

Oh Ye of Little Faith!

Don't be so sure! Mr Rudd told us that he would support
the PM and would give it all he's got to ensure the PM's
victory (And Labor's) at the next election. I believe him.
He is above all else - a strong Labor supporter - and he will
no longer give cause to the PM to worry. That is a given.
The PM on the other hand - has met the challenge beautifully -
and has come out of all this - the stronger. She acknowledged
her mistakes and I'm sure that she will rectify them - making
her a stronger leader in the process.

The focus now will be on delivering positive outcomes for the
Australian voters - and there's plenty of time to do just that
before the next election. Labor can win. The Opposition will
have to provide voters with proof as to why people should
vote for them. Their negativity to date if it continues - will
do them damage in the long-term - especially if they keep Mr
Abbott as leader. With him they have little chance of success.

Well the whole thing is a huge tantrum so I don't know why he didn't quit or do something more dramatic and bring down the government. Especially when they were all trying to paint him a psychopath, and any remnants of a 'legacy' are long gone and he will be remembered slightly above Mark Latham.

Why not cause more of a stir. I'm quite disappointed. I think it shows the guy is a titanic wimp.

He really should do something unexpected like join the Libs or something.

Maybe he should make a pass at Bob Katter. I want to see Rudd attempt to put his hands down Katter's Pants in parliament.

You have to wonder at the Labor Caucus. Latham, Rudd, well what kind of strange humans do they support man!

If the guy was sane, he could have just waited for the party to be so desperate they would have turned to him. Then he should have held a press conference, and stood on the table, dropped his pants, done a turd and put a little flag in it with a picture of Julia on it, and said he doesn't want to be prime minister, and it was the faceless men that made him do it.

In the end I have spent the whole week ringing around for numbers for KRudd and he's really disappointed me. I want to see some fireworks!

My god Lexi Goebbels. Or is it Comical Ali-lexi!

Dear Houellie,

Thanks for making me laugh out loud.
We need more from you on this Forum!