Australia gets their first female Prime Minister

The Australians have woken to find a woman running their country, as Julia Gillard is sworn in as Prime Minister

It has been a monumental day in Australia for obvious and justified reasons, as Julia Gillard got sworn in as the country's first female Prime Minister.

The move came after a surprise leadership vote in the leading Labour Party that expelled the previously popular Kevin Rudd from office.

Mr Rudd made the shock decision not to take part in the ballot after it became clear that he could suffer an embarrassing defeat to his impressive 48-year-old deputy, Ms Gillard.

It is an incredible achievement for the Welsh-born new P.M., who until yesterday, was virtually unknown in Australia.

Ms Gillard said she believed ‘a good government was losing its way' and vowed to revive Labour, which has suffered a vast drop in opinion polls ahead of the general election this October.

‘I believe I have a responsibility to make sure at the next election that Labour is there at its strongest,' she said.

At the start of this year, Mr Rudd was one of the most popular political leaders the country had seen, but commentators blame his arrogant style for creating enemies in his own party

Commenting on Mr Rudd, Julia Gillard said: ‘He was the leader who saw us through the global financial crisis.'

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