Australia

Dumped former attorney-general Robert McClelland has all but confirmed he refused to step down from Cabinet, despite being given a junior ministerial role of emergency management and housing.

Reports have indicated Prime Minister Julia Gillard was unable to force Mr McClelland out of Cabinet, after he was backed by the powerful NSW Right faction.

"Clearly I indicated that I thought the work I had done justified a Cabinet-level position," Mr McClelland told Sky News this morning.

"Without going into the details of the discussions, clearly I had made that opinion known."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-12-15/mcclelland-talks-about-reshuffle/3732488


And all this to reward Mark Arbib, who has shown no particular ability for anything other than political assassination. Gillard really is a poor judge of people - I think all she's done is alienate a few more people and perhaps pushed them into Rudd's camp.