Australian PM poised to announce election date

SYDNEY — Australia's new Prime Minister Julia Gillard Saturday met the governor-general to request a general election that will be fought on the flashpoint issues of boatpeople, the economy and global warming.Gillard, 48, who came to power three weeks ago after Labor Party factions turned on her predecessor Kevin Rudd, ousting him after less than three years when his popularity dipped, will also seek to legitimise her leadership.Political pundits and sources within the ruling centre-left Labor party have predicted that Gillard will call a poll for August 21 or 28, triggering a five or six-week election campaign.Australia's first woman prime minister, a former industrial lawyer, met Governor-General Quentin Bryce -- official representative of Queen Elizabeth II -- to ask her to dissolve parliament, clearing the way for a late August poll.Gillard was greeted with cheers from supporters, one of whom yelled, "You look hot!" as she drove through the gates of the governor-general's ornate official residence.Dour-faced opponents stood to one side with a sign which read "We want Kev -- the people's PM", a reference to her ruthless deposing of Rudd just three weeks ago.Under Australia's electoral system, the prime minister decides the date for an election and must then get consent from the governor-general.Gillard will hold a press conference at 12:00 (0200 GMT) at which she is expected to announce the election date and spell out her campaign focus."We are ready to govern," opposition leader Tony Abbott told supporters in Queensland, anticipating Gillard's announcement."This is a bad government and it deserves to lose."The election looks set to be a hard-fought and close race after the Labor government this year fell from the dizzying popularity it enjoyed for its first two years in power.The campaign itself will be bloody, as self-confessed atheist Gillard pits herself against scrappy former student boxer Abbott, head of the Liberal-National coalition, who played a key role in sinking Rudd's career.The opposition

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