By Kirsty Ross
IN THE WAKE of a glowing endorsement by exLabor leader Mark Latham, Julia Gillard has not ruled out one day leading the party.
The Lalor MP and Shadow Health Minister said no one could see into the future, however, and she would have to assess it when and if the time came.
“I am someone who never believes in destabilising Labor leaders – I’ll always support the leader of the day,” she said.
Ms Gillard said she considered running for Labor leadership earlier in the year only because the position was vacant.
“And I did that not because I think it’s all about me or my career or my prospects – I specifically don’t think that,” she said.
“I had a concern about the direction of the party. I am satisfied that Kim Beazley understood those concerns and is acting on them.”
In The Latham Diaries, released last week, Mr Latham called Ms Gillard “a rising star” and endorsed her for the top job as Opposition Leader.
“I like Gillard because she has a go,” Mr Latham wrote.
“She’s the opposite of white bread: feisty, irreverent, good sense of humour, the closest thing we have to charisma in Caucus.
“Not afraid of policy innovation but also steady and sensible.”
Ms Gillard said she bought her own copy of the book and read it last week but did not have any access to it before its public release.
“It’s all well and good for someone to offer their endorsement but it doesn’t make any difference. I am confident that people broadly in the Labor party are far too sensible to let any assessment of me and my capacities be hinged on what Mark Latham may or may not have said about me,” Ms Gillard said.
“I well and truly anticipate that my colleagues will judge me on my own personal merit.”
Ms Gillard said she did not think locals were worried about the comments, although she admitted some had been stirring the pot.
“I was at the Werribee Tigers football match (Sunday 18 September), the results of which we’re obviously not talking about because it’s too painful,” she laughed.
“People were joking with me about the diaries, but I didn’t get the sense that anyone was taking it to heart or too seriously.”
“They’d say to me, ‘Oh, thought you’d be here with a good book, did you bring any notebooks to sell?’ – you know, that kind of stuff,” she said.
“I don’t think it will affect people’s views locally of the Labor Party, at all.”
Mr Latham told the Sydney Daily Telegraph his endorsement might prove the kiss of death for Ms Gillard.
This has not yet been a problem, Ms Gillard said, “and hopefully not (in the future)”.
She admitted, however, that there was a fair bit of hurt among the party about comments made in the book.
“I am confident that the party can come through this and I will be urging them to come through it with a maximum degree of unity.”
