SubscribeHoward, Good Sense Defeated In Australia
From an elated New York Times:
Australia’s Prime Minister Defeated After 4 Terms
By TIM JOHNSTON
SYDNEY, Nov. 24 — Australian Prime Minister John Howard suffered a comprehensive defeat today, with a coalition led by his Liberal Party losing its majority in parliament.
After four terms in office, he will be replaced by Kevin Rudd, a Labor Party leader and former diplomat. Mr. Rudd, 50, campaigned on a platform of new leadership looking for new answers for new challenges. He has said his first acts as prime minister will include pushing for the ratification of the Kyoto climate agreement and to negotiate the withdrawal of Australian combat troops from Iraq.
The attempts by Mr. Howard’s coalition to stress their economic record failed to impress voters. The Australian economy has had 17 years of continuous growth, in latter years driven by Chinese demand for Australian iron ore and coal, and he had warned voters that a Labor victory would endanger the country’s future prosperity…
Early estimates had the Labor party gaining some 20 seats, to gain a 14-seat majority in the 150-seat lower house. Television prediction seven [sic] had John Howard suffering the indignity of losing his own seat in the Sydney suburb of Bennelong in parliament to a former television anchor and rookie politician, Maxine McKew. He would be the first sitting Prime Minister to lose his seat since 1929.
“It is very likely the case that I will no longer be the member for Bennelong,” he said. Mr. Howard had represented Bennelong since he first entered parliament 33 years ago…
Mr. Howard has a strong personal relationship with President George W. Bush, one based on a similar socially conservative philosophy and outlook on the war on terror, and cemented by Mr. Howard’s presence in Washington when the 9/11 attacks happened…
It was a bruising campaign, and the Liberal party has already said it will challenge a number of results on the grounds that the Labor candidates had broken electoral law by failing to resign from government jobs before running for office.
In some aspects, the Labor party framed their campaign in similar terms to others of the war on terror, as a battle between the politics of fear and the politics of hope.
Mr. Rudd, 18 years younger than Mr. Howard, has a reputation as a cerebral student of policy, as opposed to the Liberal leader’s image of a hardened and aggressive political animal.
Mr. Rudd’s rather dry image was if anything enhanced by the revelation which emerged shortly before the beginning of the campaign that he had got drunk and visited a strip club when he was on a visit to Scores New York in 2003.
“He seems more personable, approachable,” Marcelle Freiman, a university lecturer with two children, who voted for Mr. Rudd in eastern Sydney said. “He doesn’t seem arrogant yet and I have respect for him.”
What terrible news.
[T]he Labor candidates had broken electoral law by failing to resign from government jobs before running for office.
Such laws do not apply to everyone. Just allies of the US like Mr. Howard and Mr. Musharraf.
Still, all of this goes to shows the power of the media, the liberal establish that runs the world, and of course the power of ignorance.
Mr. Rudd’s rather dry image was if anything enhanced by the revelation which emerged shortly before the beginning of the campaign that he had got drunk and visited a strip club when he was on a visit to Scores New York in 2003. (Even if the reporter can’t figure out that “Scores” is the strip club.)
They can spin anything any way they want.
And yes, it can and probably will happen here.
Alas.
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6 Responses to “Howard, Good Sense Defeated In Australia”
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November 24th, 2007 at 9:54 am
“Mr. Rudd’s rather dry image was if anything enhanced by the revelation which emerged shortly before the beginning of the campaign that he had got drunk and visited a strip club when he was on a visit to Scores New York in 2003.”
Ted Kennedy’s twin?
If Australia rejects Rudd Massachusetts will take him.
November 24th, 2007 at 5:39 pm
From the article on Drudge about Rudd’s Party:
“Labor has been out of power for more than a decade, and few in Rudd’s team - including him - has any government experience at federal level. His team includes a former rock star - Midnight Oil singer Peter Garrett - a television journalist and former union officials.”
Oh, that sounds like a great group to be leading Australia. (Typical, how the Liberal MSM tout the anti-Bush Leaders when they get elected.)
“They can spin anything any way they want.
And yes, it can and probably will happen here.”
Your right SG. I guess experience is not a criteria to be elected as leader of a Country these days, just plenty of good media coverage. I bet that is what Schillery is banking on.
November 24th, 2007 at 6:07 pm
I don’t think experience is all that important to be a president personally. The truth is every president learns on the job since no one has actually done it before they get elected to the job (except Grover Cleveland I guess) . What is important is to have sound policy positions, guts, and the personality of a leader. Howard has these traits, as did Reagan, Thatcher, Teddy Roosevelt and Churchill. Does Hillary Clinton fit into this category? No one could think so.
Howard was a fine leader who showed common sense and toughness against the growing influence of the extremist muslim population in his country. And if the 17 years of continuous growth didn’t impress Aussie voters, wait until the lefties start taking their money to fuel social programs and stunt that growth in a hurry.
Yes it will happen here too. There just aren’t enough people paying attention anymore to carry a common sense leader to victory. And most people are scared silly about any sort of confrontation too. They seem to figure if you want peace then the other side will too. Childish as that philosophy is, many have it.
November 24th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
“What is important is to have sound policy positions, guts, and the personality of a leader. ”
Your right AmericanIPA, although I believe one achieve’s these qualities through experience. ( It doesn’t always have to be political experience.) …. as in, EXPERIENCE - ” practical knowledge, skill or pratice derived from direct observation by participating in or living through an event or activity as a basis of knowledge.” The act or process of truthfully and directly perceiving events or reality. (Not the ideology of socialism.)
That’s one of the reasons I think some of the Iraq/Afganistan War Veterans should be running for office in 2008. And, I hear a few are.
November 24th, 2007 at 7:24 pm
How’s this for an unbiased headline ? From the (obviously gloating) AP:
Nope. No bias here.
Compare this to places where long-time left-leaning parties are finally ousted (most recently the socialist NDP Party being kicked out of Saskatchewan in Canada after 16 years) and it’s “Change for the sake of change” (and isn’t that something that conservatives routinely bitch about ?).
Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t Mr. Howard also the first PM to win four consecutive majorities ? Not that that’d be mentioned…MK ?
Now there’s class. Man, and this cat’s a Liberal ???
We should be so lucky to have liberals like that…
November 25th, 2007 at 4:40 am
I can understand why you’d be a little confused, DW - Howard is politically conservative, but his party is called the Liberal Party. Australia’s politics are unique in that sense. It has to do with economic freedom, not the agressive social equality that liberals generally spout.
Howard is gone…in comes Ruddy Duddy. Cry, beloved country.