Australia
Posted at 6:09pm on Nov. 24, 2007 A Change Down Under
By Pejman Yousefzadeh
It is disappointing to see that John Howard and the Liberal Party have lost the Australian elections. But by all accounts, they can hold their heads up high as having served the Australian people well and having bequeathed a sound and prosperous society to incoming Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
Iraq as an issue has gotten a lot of attention but it is important to note that the vast majority of attention paid by the Australian electorate was to domestic and economic issues. Australian troops will be withdrawn from Iraq but by all accounts, the nature of American-Australian relations will not change. It will be interesting to see if Rudd has been able to fully reform the Australian Lbor Party and whether Liberal Treasurer Peter Costello, who will likely inherit Howard's mantle as the leader of the Liberals, can revive the party's fortunes in time for the next election.
In the meantime, a thank you from Ed Morrissey. It is not given without reason.
Posted in Australia | Foreign Affairs | John Howard | Kevin Rudd — Comments (1)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 8:33am on Nov. 24, 2007 Labor Victory in Australia
An era of economic conservatism ends
By blackhedd
The Howard Era in Australia has ended, as the Conservative leader, who came close to losing his own seat in Parliament, telephoned his opponent to concede.
Incoming Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has promised to pull Australian troops out of Iraq and to sign the Kyoto Treaty on greenhouse-gas emissions, leaving the US as the only major nation not to do so.
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Posted in Australia | Foreign Affairs | John Howard — Comments (10)/ Email this page » / Read More »
