Melbourne: Australian Foreign Minister
Kevin Rudd was Tuesday caught in a gaffe when he referred to himself as prime minister in a radio interview.
It follows opinion polls showing support for Prime
Minister Julia Gillard at record lows.
When asked about recent polls, Rudd said: "You know
What, I`m a happy little vegemite being prime minister."
However, he then corrected his title to Foreign
Minister and blamed jet lag for the gaffe.
"Your question was about being prime minister - there,
you`ve caught me getting off a plane being jet-lagged," Rudd
said.
As speculation mounts Rudd could replace Prime Minister
Julia Gillard and return to the top job, the Foreign Minister
rejected suggestions he has been drumming up support in the
caucus numbers for a challenge to Gillard.
"And as for the Prime Minister, as I said before and
said in the United States, I fully support the Prime Minister.
Rudd was ousted in a shock Labor Party coup led by his then-deputy Gillard in June 2010.
Reacting to the Gaffe, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott
said it is "obviously something that`s on Kevin Rudd`s mind".
"I think that every day since his political
assassination, Kevin Rudd has thought about going back into
the top job," Abbott said.
He added "I think this is a real problem for the Labor
Party - they`ve got a prime minister and a foreign minister
who aren`t working closely together.
"I think the Prime Minister is trying to keep him out
of the country as much as she possibly can, but obviously he
wants to be back in the country right now and I suspect he`ll
be doing a lot of talking to his colleagues."
PTI
