Australia's PM Calls Election for October 9

Australia's Prime Minister, John Howard, has called an election for October 9. It is one of the superiorities the parliamentary system has over America's presidential-constitutional one -- a campaign that doesn't take a year (polling day is six weeks off and that's the longest in Australia for 20 years). Mr. Howard has already said that the election is about trust. It is also about Iraq, where 800 Australian troops still work alongside the US. There was an election in Spain not too long ago while there were Spanish troops working with the US -- the government lost. Mr. Howard could be in trouble.

The Australian system uses a second-preference voting system, which means that opinion polls that have the governing Liberal/National coalition about even with the opposition Labour Party aren't really telling the whole story. Second preferences favor Labour quite a lot lately. The Greens in Australia do matter, there is a party of Democrats who hold four Senate seats, and there are independents who count.

If Mr. Bush has the September 11 murders to exploit, Mr. Howard has the Bali bombing, Australia's 9/11. Opinion says national security is Mr. Howard's trump card. But Labour's Mark Latham talks about a ladder of opportunity that resonates in New South Wales as well as it would in New Jersey.

But the real issue both men claim is about trust. Mr. Howard asked the Australian voters, "Who do you trust to lead the fight on Australia's behalf against international terrorism? Who do you trust to keep the economy strong and protect family living standards?" [Sic, sic, sic -- "whom" Mr. Prime Minister, "whom."] Mr. Latham says the Howard Government has "acted deceitfully for too long." Recall that foreign policy Andrew Wilkie resigned just before the cruise missiles flew saying there were not any weapons of mass destruction.

In the end, the risk to Mr. Howard is not that the Australian people have no faith in him. The risk is that he's been PM too long. This will be his fourth general election as head of the ruling coalition. If even a smidgen of mistrust sticks, the voters may just decide its time for a new face -- Mr. Latham's.


© Copyright 2004 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.


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