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CANBERRA, Australia — The House of Representatives elected an opposition lawmaker as speaker in a move that strengthens Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s tenuous grip on power.
The election of Peter Slipper follows the surprise resignation today of speaker Harry Jenkins, a member of Gillard’s Labor Party. The speaker votes only to break a tie.
The change gives the government an additional vote in the chamber on most legislation and subtracts the opposition’s numbers by one.
Denver Post wire services
