Sex scandal may topple Australian Labor Party

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard may be forced into a by-election by a possible sex scandal plaguing Labor backbencher Craig Thomson. Police are investigating allegations that Thomson, the former national secretary of the Health Services Union, used his union credit card to pay thousands of dollars to a brothel in Sydney. Thomson denies the allegations, arguing that his credit card was stolen and used illegally, and Gillard supports his claim. But if Thomson is convicted, he would have to step down from parliament, triggering a by-election that the Labor Party would likely lose (polls show that support for the party remains the lowest in the country).

The Independent