Australian PM knocks out rival, but not discontent

CANBERRA, Australia - Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard may have survived a challenge from within her own party, but the dissent that forced Monday's vote isn't going away.

Gillard defeated Kevin Rudd, her former foreign minister, 71 votes to 31 in a ballot of Labor Party lawmakers, ending Rudd's attempt to recapture the job Gillard took from him in an internal party coup in 2010. But she remains unpopular with voters, and unless that changes she could lead Labor to huge losses in elections slated for next year.

Though Rudd said he will not challenge Gillard again, his supporters predicted that party power brokers will simply nominate someone else to do so within months.