Julia Gillard misogyny rant on Tony Abbott goes viral

PRIME Minister Julia Gillard’s parliamentary “smackdown” on Tony Abbott has gone viral, making news around the world and dominating social media trends.

Ms Gillard’s attack on the “misogyny” of Mr Abbott is receiving glowing reviews in America, with bloggers saying US politics would benefit from a similar dose of fiery vitriol.

Also read: Full transcript of Julia Gillard ‘misogynist’ speech to Tony Abbott

US entertainment website Salon says the US would like to borrow Ms Gillard “to take on Congress’s misogynist caucus” after she “skewered” Mr Abbott for “a career’s worth of patriarchal comments.”

View the video report of Julia Gillard’s sexism exchange with Tony Abbott (Sky News Australia):

The New Yorker’s Amelia Lester said Americans wished Barack Obama had displayed similarly tenacious qualities in last week’s presidential debate with Republican challenger Mitt Romney.

“Supporters of President Obama, watching Gillard cut through the disingenuousness and feigned moral outrage of her opponent to call him out for his own personal prejudice, hypocrisy, and aversion to facts, might be wishing their man would take a lesson from Australia,” she wrote.

View the video about Julia Gillard’s sexism exchange with Tony Abbott, from a US perspective:

Meanwhile, Jezebel – a popular American website dedicated to women’s issues – described Ms Gillard as “one badass motherf***er” for her “impassioned 15-minute smackdown”.

Ms Gillard was responding to a motion on Tuesday by Mr Abbott to sack Speaker Peter Slipper over the content of text messages sent to staffer James Ashby, who is taking Mr Slipper to court over alleged sexual harassment, comparing female genitalia to mussels.

During the debate, Ms Gillard accused the opposition leader of a history of misogyny and sexism dating back to his student politics days.

The ABC video of her outburst, posted on the ABC News website and YouTube, has had more than 300,000 views, while her speech is one of the most talked about topics on social media, trending under the hashtag #smackdown.

The prime minister has also been praised by commentators in the UK, where The Spectator said there was “much to admire” in Ms Gillard’s address, while Britain’s Daily Telegraph wrote that Ms Gillard tore Mr Abbott apart with “aplomb, composure… (and) armed with a brilliantly impressive set of insults.”

Ms Gillard’s speech also made headlines in India, Canada and South Africa. - with AAP

IMAGE: Prime Minister Julia Gillard speaks during House of Representatives question time at Parliament House in Canberra, Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch)