Australia has its first female PM

Big news of the day: Australia has a female Prime Minister.

I found this passage particularly interesting: "Government lawmakers believe Gillard has a better chance of winning back voters because she is a warmer personality who can sell policies more effectively.

Gillard will automatically attract a large female vote, especially when compared with conservative opposition leader Tony Abbott, who is anti-abortion and opposes sex before marriage. "I was so disappointed when Hillary Clinton didn't become president of the U.S., so I'm very happy that a woman is in power in Australia," said a pensioner named Anne in Sydney."

A few things from that passage merit highlighting-

1- the (I believe, false) belief that because she is a woman she will automatically get the female vote (look at where that got Hillary!)

2- she is described as having a "warmer personality"

3- how the Clinton candidacy is invoked, but not Palin's

Other thoughts-

1- She was appointed, not elected, although the article does state that she is heavily favored when elections do take place to win. Bear in mind though, in a Parliamentary system, voters vote for parties and not people (per se). For example, a ballot cannot be cast for Julia Gillard, but rather for her Labor Party. Perhaps that has an influence on the voters' comfort in electing a female PM (as in Britain and Israel that also have Parliamentary systems). Does this mean that our electoral system can be a contributing factor to the fact that we haven't had a female President?

2- We should pay close attention to the fact that one of the major issues that she is set to tackle is climate change policy. Perhaps her results (or lack thereof) could influence Obama's pursuit of such policies here.