Third time lucky?

The article reports that Kim Beazley, who led Labor from 1996 to 2001, was left as the only candidate for the job after two rival contenders, Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard, announced their withdrawal. Both conceded they had been unable to muster sufficient support among their parliamentary colleagues to challenge Beazley. Barring any unforeseen problems, the path was cleared for Beazley to resume the Labor leadership at one of the lowest points in the party's 114-year history. Labor is still reeling from the shock of its fourth successive defeat last October by the conservative coalition government led by John Howard. On January 18th, a second shock followed when Mark Latham, who had led Labor for only 13 months, resigned as leader and from parliament. A tough year lies ahead. In July, the government will take control for the first time of the Senate, giving it what Beazley called "a position of absolutely unprecedented power".