Adios Julia

Australia has a new prime minister. Julia Gillard (AKA “The ranga”) was given the heave-ho on Wednesday night and Kevin Rudd is the new leader of the Labor Party. With an election coming up in September and Gillard’s approval ratings in the toilet, it seems as though this was not too big of a surprise. She made a last ditch effort to soften her image with this bizarre photo shoot for Women’s Weekly, in which she can be seen knitting a gift for the royal baby due next month.

Am I wrong to feel like this is total bullshit? This is the same woman who gave an impassioned speech in front of Parliament about rampant sexism in politics, and here she is pandering to the very people she criticized  I feel like I’m stuck in a time warp back to the 1950s or something. Is this really what a female national leader thinks she has to do to get the public on her side? Awful photo shoot aside, I never quite understood why people disliked Julia Gillard so much. Perhaps the manner in which she came to power is partly to blame; by going behind Rudd’s back and taking the PM’s position, which is decidedly unladylike. I certainly don’t envy her the job of being the first female PM, and I hope it’s a little easier for the ones who come after her.