Sydney: Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard met ousted predecessor Kevin Rudd on Saturday to bolster a flagging campaign as a new poll predicted she would lose a general election in two weeks' time.
The meeting between Gillard and her former boss, the first since she forced him from office in a leadership coup in June, took place under tight security at federal government offices in Brisbane, capital of Rudd's home state of Queensland.
Gillard called the election after replacing Rudd in a coup within their Labour Party on June 24.
Labour's poll-winning lead in opinion surveys has narrowed since the election call. The latest survey showed the party facing defeat in the August 21 contest to opposition leader Tony Abbot's conservative coalition.
Media access was restricted at yesterday's carefully choreographed meeting and no questions were permitted. Television pictures showed both politicians looking strained as they huddled around a map with advisers as if discussing an election strategy.
Playing a part
Gillard later told reporters the two would not appear together during the election run-up, but Rudd would campaign for the government's re-election.
"What Kevin and I discussed was him actively campaigning," she told reporters. "That's what he wants to do."
Abbott dubbed the meeting a "soap opera" as he prepared for his official campaign launch on Sunday.
"It's a riveting drama," he told a news conference.
