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Summary I cannot continue to serve as foreign minister if I don t have PM Gillard s support. Rudd said.
Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd Wednesday resigned, saying he could not continue without the support of Prime Minister Julia Gillard.Speculation has been mounting that Rudd plans to challenge Gillard for the leadership and he said he would return to Australia this week and make a full statement on his future before parliament resumes on Monday.The simple truth is that I cannot continue to serve as foreign minister if I dont have Prime Minister Gillards support, he said in a late night press conference in Washington broadcast live in Australia.I therefore believe the only honorable course of action is for me to resign.Earlier today, Rudd also denied he was planning to challenge Prime Minister Julia Gillard for the leadership, amid reports she is preparing to sack him.Can I just say, as Ive said many times before, that we have a prime minister, I support the prime minister, and I intend to remain as foreign minister, Rudd said.Australia s Labor government has been torn by speculation about whether Rudd, who Gillard suddenly ousted as a prime minister in mid-2010 but who remains hugely popular with voters, would mount a bid to return to the top job.Rudd became prime minister in 2007, after a landslide electoral win which ended more than a decade of conservative rule. But he was ousted in June 2010 in a party-room vote after losing the support of Labors factional leaders.
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