Where did it all go wrong for Kevin Rudd?

  • Breaking
  • 08/09/2013

Kevin Rudd took to the stage in Brisbane on Saturday night like a man who had won an election, not a man who had taken Labor back into opposition after only two terms in office.

So where did it all go wrong?

Appearing before cheering supporters on Saturday, he said he thought he had lost. He did, and convincingly. The defeated Prime Minister then announced he was stepping down as Labor leader.

"I have taken this decision with a heavy heart," he told the crowd. "I love this party."

The cheering and the smiling were reminiscent of his arrival in 2007, when he swept to a landslide victory over John Howard.

He was the man of the moment, the people's politician. His approval ratings were higher than any other Prime Minister, and even our Prime Minister, John Key, appeared a fan.

But a bungled insulation scheme suddenly saw the heat being turned on Mr Rudd. Then he couldn't deliver on one of his core issues - global warming. Then came the mining tax and Julia Gillard.

In June 2010 she was in and he was out. Well, he was supposed to be.

He was a thorn in her side over the next three years, with constant speculation he would challenge for the leadership. Eventually he did, and in June he ruthlessly rolled the very woman who rolled him.

Mr Rudd was back, and loving it.

"That is a task I resume today with humility, with honour and with an important sense of energy and purpose," he said at the time.

Mr Rudd was the first former Prime Minister to return to the office since 1949. For the first few weeks he enjoyed a honeymoon phase, rating well in the polls. Arguably he should have called an election immediately. Instead he waited, clearly wanting to enjoy the moment.

By mid-August there were reports he was rude to a make-up artist. Critics then slammed his election campaign, saying he was off message, he wasn't sticking to a theme and he seemed rattled and disorganised.

Then in what must have been a hurtful blow, ministers and Labor factional powerbrokers openly questioned if Ms Gillard was in fact the better bet.

Last night Mr Rudd betted on Labor making a comeback, saying the party had "always risen from defeat".

The question now is will be turn his back on politics, or is their still life in Mr Rudd?

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source: newshub archive