I woke up this morning to find that Australia, for the time being, has no Prime Minister. The position is vacant following Julia Gillard’s resignation last night. For those of you unfamiliar with antipodean politics, our system is a hybrid “Washminster” system, fusing federal elements of the American system with the British concept of responsible government. The Australian Federal Parliament is bicameral (House of Representatives and Senate). The office of Australian Prime Minister is the apex of the executive structure, but is not directly elected by the Australian people. Citizens vote for Members of Parliament, and the leader of the political party with a majority of seats in the House of Representatives is appointed Prime Minister. Of course, Australians usually bear in mind the leader of each major political party (i.e. the contenders for the position of Prime Minister) when casting their ballots.

As a result of this system, it is possible for a change in Prime Minister to occur mid-term if the ruling Party decides to change leadership (historically, a rare occurrence). It was just such a change that made Julia Gillard Prime Minister in 2010, and today she has been deposed as Prime Minister by the same means.