Australia PM gets help for election victory

CANBERRA, Australia - Prime Minister Julia Gillard edged closer to retaining power in Australia on Thursday when an independent lawmaker said he would support her center-left Labor Party to form Australia's first minority government in almost seven decades.

A bloc of three independent kingmakers will now decide whether Labor governs for a second three-year term or whether a conservative Liberal Party-led coalition forms the next administration after Aug 21 elections failed to deliver any party a majority.

The conservative coalition now needs the backing of all three uncommitted independents to reach a 76-seat majority in the 150-seat House of Representatives while Labor needs only two.