"I always had this long shadow from the way in which I became Prime Minister and active steps were taken basically every day of my Prime Ministership to have that shadow become darker and darker and not lighter and lighter." – Julia Gillard

With Kevin Rudd deposed, Julia Gillard became Australia's first female Prime Minister. But the repercussions of the dramatic change of leadership cast a long shadow over her time in office.

Within weeks of taking over, Gillard called an election for late August 2010. The campaign was dominated by internal leaks damaging to Gillard; Wayne Swan called them "the greatest act of political bastardry" he had ever witnessed. Gillard secured the support of the Independents and the Greens to form a minority government. However, her continued struggle with legitimacy, a carbon "tax", a flood of boats and the actions of Kevin Rudd and his supporters, dogged her Prime Ministership.

Facing an election wipe-out, the Labor Caucus moved again – this time to return Kevin Rudd to power. Gillard's political career was over.

The third act was complete. Did the "original sin" of the 2010 challenge make that end inevitable? Did Gillard herself – or Rudd's relentless will to return – bring Labor to that point?