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Ministers Desert PM Ministers desert PM Exclusive Peter Hartcher Mark Kenny The Age 19 March 2013 Senior ministers in the Gillard government are reconsidering their support for the Prime Minister – a sign of collapsing confidence at a critical time. Cabinet minister Mark Butler, a key figure in the Labor Left faction, has told colleagues that he is reconsidering his support for Julia Gillard. And an important member of the Labor Right faction, Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr, has told colleagues that he lost confidence in Ms Gillard some time ago. Both cabinet ministers were considered firm supporters of Ms Gillard against former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Their changing positions are a sign of a loss of confidence in Ms Gillard within the government, and evidence of a gathering momentum to restore Mr Rudd to the leadership. Both ministers are understood to have developed grave doubts about the Prime Minister’s political judgment and her ability to campaign. Mr Butler is the Minister for Mental Health and Ageing and a member of the ALP national executive. He supported Ms Gillard for the leadership when Mr Rudd challenged last year. He is considered to carry with him the votes of three or four other caucus members, in the factional and tribal way of the Labor Party. He is the leader of the South Australian Left. It is understood that Mr Butler doubts Ms Gillard’s ability to lead the party to victory at the September 14 election, and fears the consequences of an Abbott government. Labor, which failed to win a majority of seats at the 2010 election, has never been ina winning position in Fairfax Media’s Nielsen poll since that election. In the Nielsen poll published on Monday, Labor would lose an election held now with a decisive swing against it of 6 per cent, enough to cost it more than 20 seats in the House of Representatives. Senator Carr, the elder statesman of the NSW Right, was handpicked by Ms Gillard to take a seat in the Senate and replace Mr Rudd in the foreign affairs portfolio. He becomes the most senior member of the NSW Right to switch support from Ms Gillard to Mr Rudd. Senator Carr was disenchanted and angered by the Prime Minister’s handling of two policy decisions. One was Australia’s vote on giving UN observer status to the Palestinians; the other was her decision not to give the cabinet notice that it was going to discuss media policy last week. Asked to comment on Monday, Mr Butler did not deny that he was reconsidering his support for Ms Gillard. “I have dealt with this question at least a dozen times in the past and I’m not engaging in yet another round of speculation about internal party matters,” he said. Senator Carr, travelling to the US, was unavailable for comment. The loss of confidence in Ms Gillard by some Cabinet ministers comes as worried Labor MPs gather in Canberra on Tuesday for the final scheduled caucus meeting for nearly two months. Caucus meetings are the venue for leadership ballots. Although Ms Gillard’s caucus support has not been canvassed seriously since the Rudd challenge, it is doubtful she now enjoys the confidence of the majority. .
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