Updated December 16, 2011 14:35:31
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Julia Gillard's grip on the prime ministership appears more tenuous than ever, with a group of senior ministers now believed to have swung their support behind leadership aspirant Kevin Rudd.
The spark for the shift in allegiances was this week's ministerial reshuffle, which saw good-performing ministers Kim Carr and Robert McClelland moved aside to make way for strong supporters of Ms Gillard.
Nicola Roxon was elevated to Attorney-General in place of Mr McClelland and Greg Combet was given Senator Carr’s Industry portfolio.
As well, two of the so-called faceless men, Bill Shorten and Mark Arbib, who engineered last year’s leadership coup against Mr Rudd, were rewarded with promotion.
Senator Carr this morning bitterly slammed colleagues who had briefed journalists that he had been sacked because of poor performance, telling AM they were "gutless".
And Resources Minister Martin Ferguson yesterday refused to back Ms Gillard, saying instead that he was "loyal to the Labor Party".
Mr McClelland yesterday confirmed he had refused to be forced out of Cabinet despite his demotion, and said a number of his Caucus colleagues had contacted him to "discuss matters" around the reshuffle.
Public dissent after a reshuffle by ministers is an extremely rare event, and combined with poor opinion polls, it bodes ill for Ms Gillard's longevity as Prime Minister.
Asked this morning if Ms Gillard had told him she was not happy with the job he was doing in the Industry portfolio, Senator Carr said: "No".
"I don't think it's got anything to do with performance," Senator Carr told AM.
"It's a matter between me and the Prime Minister. I'm at a loss to try and explain some of these matters."
He said he had read "press scuttlebutt", leaked by colleagues, about his performance.
"I can't comment on the actions of what are essentially gutless people that prefer to work through the newspapers rather than talk to me about these matters."
Allegiance
Asked directly if his allegiance had shifted from Ms Gillard to Mr Rudd, Mr Ferguson yesterday told reporters: "I am loyal to the Labor Party.
"I have a very professional relationship with both Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd, and it's about just continuing to do the job that I have responsibility for. I'm not going to respond to press speculation."
The dissent comes on top of leaks against Mr Rudd and his omission from Ms Gillard's speech at Labor's national conference two weeks ago.
But one minister firmly in Ms Gillard's corner is Senator Chris Evans, who himself was demoted in this week's reshuffle, losing his employment and workplace relations portfolio to Mr Shorten.
Senator Evans says the Prime Minister has his unqualified allegiance.
"Absolutely. I mean Julia's doing a very good job as Prime Minister, and as Senate leader I support her absolutely," he said.
"I think you'll find that's the view of the Caucus that we're committed behind Julia."
First posted December 16, 2011 09:58:13
Gillard's grip slips as MPs back Rudd - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
