Last night, former Prime Minister Julia Gillard revealed what really happened between her and successor Kevin Rudd – and how they get along now.
In the sold-out appearance at the Sydney Writer’s Festival, Ms Gillard sat down with Mamamia’s editor-in-chief, Jamila Rizvi. She revealed that she no longer harbored any resentment toward Mr Rudd, who replaced her as leader in 2013, but did say that they were not necessarily on speaking terms. As Jamila summarised – they would swap Christmas cards, but not birthday cards.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports Ms Gillard said, “I’m not going to live my life grinding my guts about Kevin,” she continued, “I have no sense of enmity towards him.”
She added, “The lady Macbeth thing caught the media’s eye and that was very difficult to shift.”
Ms Gillard also noted that she was determined not to show emotion during the final days before losing her leadership to Mr Rudd. And because of this, she endured the calls to “ditch the witch,” she ignored the pornographic cartoons and persisted through the obsession with the size of her behind.
“I didn’t want people to say, ‘See, I told you – she can’t take it,” she said.
Breaking this stoic façade, Ms Gillard revealed that her final day as a leader left her feeling, “very much the worse for wear,” after a wild party at the lodge. Her trusted friend, then-Treasurer, Wayne Swan was the last to leave – and then he went on to continue at another venue.
Ms Gillard also reflected on her now very famous ‘misogyny speech,’ a devastating attack on current Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s own failings.
Want more? Try this: Julia Gillard’s interview with Ray Martin has us talking.
Speaking to the crowd the impact of the speech did not hit her until her former deputy and close ally, Wayne Swan said, “You can’t give the ‘I accuse’ speech and then do your correspondence”.
The powerful address garnered congratulations from world leaders, including Barack Obama, transforming her overnight into a feminist icon, receiving over 2.6 million YouTube hits.
The event, which took place at Sydney’s prestigious Angel Place, was also used to promote Ms Gillard’s memoir, My Story, which was once famously described by Mr Rudd as a “contribution to Australian fiction”.
Top Comments
Was so exciting to be there in the audience, and then to meet her when she signed autographs afterwards!! Thanks Jamilla for a great interview with an amazing woman.