‘Julia Gillard hatched Rudd’s downfall plot’

CANBERRA - Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has been accused of hatching the plot that toppled Kevin Rudd.

The Herald Sun quoted Liberal powerbroker Michael Kroger, as saying that the then deputy leader of the Labor Party told a senior Melbourne businessman a week before the overthrow of Rudd that a leadership challenge would take place within the next 7 days.

At the launch of union heavyweight Paul Howes’ book Confessions of a Faceless Man, an inside account of the election, Kroger questioned the truth of the Prime Minister’s story.

Kroger said: “Julia Gillard told at least one Melbourne businessman the week before the challenge there would be a change of leader in the next week,” but he admitted that he can not prove it.

But he insisted that the information came from a very good sources and Labor was close to business leaders in Victoria, adding, “The 23rd of June wasn’t the first time she knew about it she knew about this in the week before the challenge.”

Labor has long maintained that the coup against Rudd was the outcome a series of meetings within 24-hour between Gillard and right-wing faction bosses Mark Arbib from NSW, Bill Shorten and David Feeney from Victoria, and Don Farrell from South Australia, that ended on June 23.

After more than 30 years close to the centre of power and a number of leadership challenges in Liberal politics, Kroger said it was impossible to put together a leadership challenge within 24 hours and more time was needed to ensure support for any coup. (ANI)