Old South Wales socialism made Gillard who she is

Australia’s 27th prime minister is not only the first female holder of the office, but also only the second foreign-born PM. Like the first, Billy Hughes, she is Welsh. Ironically, Wales has now produced twice as many prime ministers of Australia as it has of the UK, of which it remains a constituent part.

However, Julia Gillard makes little of her heritage. ‘I always knew, growing up,’ she said, ‘that we had chosen this place [Adelaide] because it offered us opportunities beyond those our homeland could have delivered. My parents could muse on what life might have held for them in Wales. Frankly, I cannot. Australia is and always has been my reality.’ This is not surprising given that her parents took up the Australian government’s assisted immigration scheme in 1966, when Gillard was only four years old.

Nevertheless, the cultural influence of South Wales, rather than South Australia, lingers in both her political vision and her personal style.