Rudd Calls Sept. 7 Vote in Australia Showdown With Abbott

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd called Australia’s election for Sept. 7, as the reinstated Labor leader seeks to overcome his party’s tarnished brand to beat Tony Abbott’s opposition.

Rudd, 55, will need to convince voters that a second term will be more successful than his first, which ended in a party coup engineered by colleagues disgruntled with his autocratic style. Abbott, 55, who trails as preferred prime minister even as his coalition holds a slim lead in opinion polls, faces the challenge of transforming his negative image into that of a leader with a policy platform for the nation.