rights to take this course of action; convention in the Westminster system gives the incumbent first minister the first opportunity to form a government when no party has a clear majority. Three weeks of political limbo ended on 5 March. At Kerin's request, the House of Assembly was called into session earlier than is normally the case after an election. With Lewis in the speaker's chair, Kerin moved a confidence motion in his own government. The motion was defeated, leaving Kerin with no choice but to resign in favour of Rann. Opposition leader Kerin remained Liberal leader, and hence became Leader of the Opposition. His approach to leadership and parliamentary tactics was more congenial than usual; this led to both praise from those who saw him as a 'nice guy' and criticism from those who believed his style was ineffective compared to the so-called "media savvy and aggressive" parliamentary tactics of the Rann Labor government. At the 2006 election the Liberals were soundly defeated, suffering a statewide swing against them of about 7.7 percent. Following that loss, Kerin stood down as Liberal leader, but remained in parliament. He was succeeded as Liberal leader by Iain Evans. To date, Kerin is the last former head of a main government in Australia to have served as leader of the opposition. Parliamentary resignation In 2007, Kerin announced he would not be seeking re-election at the 2010 election. Kerin announced on 11 November 2008 that he would resign from parliament immediately rather than at the next election. This triggered the 2009 Frome by-election. Independent Geoff Brock won the seat in a very close contest, with his presence to later deny the Liberals government at the 2014 election. References External links |- |- |- |- Premiers of South Australia Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of South Australia Deputy Premiers of South Australia 1954 births Living people Leaders of the Opposition in South Australia 21st-century Australian politicians People educated at Sacred Heart College, Adelaide