While 2013 will be a crucial year for Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard because the election result will determine if she will remain in her post or be replaced by Opposition leader Tony Abbott, 2012 was certainly a banner year for the leader of the Australian Labor Party and the country's first female prime minister.

It was a controversial year ranging from parodies of her persona in a popular Australian soap opera to the death of a loved one, shoe accidents and of course, her epic battles with Mr Abbott. These reasons alone are why she was a YouTube sensation in her own right and a favourite meme topic such as the following.

1. Misogyny Charge

Ms Gillard managed to restore a significant chunk of voter's confidence, thanks in part to her accusations in Parliament of her nemesis, Mr Abbott being a misogynist.

The 15-minute video was viral in YouTube with more than 2 million views so far. Ms Gillard's diatribe against Mr Abbott, which damaged the Coalition leader's reputation, however, has basis, including a story of how he bullied a female student leader who beat him in a student council election, and his brushes with other powerful female figures.

The misogyny charges, which was matched by Mr Abbott with questions over her handling union funds in her previous job, captures the cat-and-dog fight the two top politicians had and other politicians as well in this meme.

2. End of the World

Ms Gillard, in a tongue-in-cheek comment, added fuel to apocalyptic fears caused by a misinterpretation of the Mayan calendar, by making it appear she believes in the scenario. To make matters worse, she even delivered the satire in Parliament.

This video has so far 2.8 million views. Obviously, the Mayan end-of-the-world prediction did not come to pass, but her attempt to be funny merited her this meme.

3. Indian accident

While on an official visit to India on Oct 17, 2012, her high heels got embedded in soft grass while walking on the lawn of the Gandhi Memorial in New Delhi, causing her to trip.

Indian officials served as the knight-in-shining armour for Ms Gillard, who managed to hold a press conference that same day. This first shoe accident, included similar postings had about 1.5 million plus hits in YouTube and generated this meme.

4. The other shoe accident

Although she often crosses paths with Mr Abbott, her arch enemy, and her security force saved her when they were attacked by protesters at an awards ceremony in a Canberra restaurant. In the process of leaving the premises, she lost a shoe, now held as a prized trophy by the protesters.

The momentary truce between the two was just that - momentary for Mr Abbott continued to challenge Ms Gillard in many areas of her governance such as the carbon tax. However, one area they both agree on is rejection of gay marriages, even if some meme's, such as this, questions Ms Gillard's preferences in her personal life.

5. Father dearest

While Ms Gillard has opted to remain childless, she does not abhor men because she has a current live-in relationship with Tim Mathieson. Besides Mr Mathieson, Ms Gillard was very close to another male, her father, John Gillard, who died in September, causing the prime minister to cut short her trip to Russia.

However, radio host Alan Jones created a ruckus when he said Mr Gillard died of shame over his daughter's alleged political lies. He eventually apologised to the prime minister in this video.

Apologies, however, won't save Mr Jones and other Australians from being taxed as the Gillard government attempts to achieve a budget surplus.

In her New Year's message, Ms Gillard called on Australians to work together in a renewed spirit of unity. She acknowledged that while Australia has a resilient economy, it needs to be managed carefully amid ongoing fiscal threats from the U.S. and Europe.

RELATED STORIES