Carcasses retained his seat in the October 2012 general election, and maintained his confidence in the Kilman government, of which however he was no longer a member. He sat as a government backbencher until 20 March 2013, when he was one of 8 MPs to cross the floor, join the Opposition and force Kilman to resign. Three days later, Parliament elected Carcasses as Prime Minister, with the support of 34 MPs out of 52. He is the first foreign-born person to lead the country, and his predecessor objected to his election on those grounds.