Australia Welcomes First Female PM

Julia Gillard became the first female Australian Prime Minister Thursday after former Labor leader Kevin Rudd stepped down. Rudd, faced with rising unpopularity after he abandoned a carbon-reduction plan and imposed a new mining tax, has now become the shortest-serving Australian Prime Minister since 1972. Gillard is considered more left-wing than Rudd, but lawmakers believe she has a better chance of gaining more voters for the embattled Labor Party since she has a warmer personality than her predecessor. Gillard will have a tough challenge in the next general election, however: Several mining companies are expected to pump money and energy into the Conservative Party to have the mining tax repealed.