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Prime Minister Kevin Rudd visited Australia’s governor-general on Sunday in a formality preceding the announcement of an election likely to be held on 7 September just months after taking over again as the country’s leader.
Rudd flew to Canberra from his hometown of Brisbane on Sunday afternoon and later spent several minutes in Governor-General Quentin Bryce’s official residence.
He is expected to announce an election date later at a news conference at Parliament House. Prime ministers almost always pick the earliest available date, which in Rudd’s case is 7 September.
Rudd was first elected prime minister in 2007 but was ousted in 2010 by his then deputy Julia Gillard in an internal leadership showdown within his center-left Labor Party.
He reclaimed his leadership in a similar challenge on 26 June as the government faced the prospect of a loss of historic portions with Gillard at the helm.
Since then, Rudd has changed several key policy position and opinion polls suggest Labor is closing the lead of the conservative opposition. But his government remains the underdog in elections that must be held before December.
Associated Press
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