Australia: John Howard Finally Kicked to the Curb
November 24th, 2007Via: Bloomberg:
Kevin Rudd’s Labor Party won Australia’s election, ending John Howard’s 11-year rule after promising to tackle climate change, restore workers’ bargaining power and withdraw Australian troops from Iraq.
Labor won 83 of the 150 seats in the House of Representatives, gaining 23 seats from 2004, according to Australian Broadcasting Corp. projections. The Liberal-National coalition has 58 seats, with two independents and seven undecided, ABC said.
…
Howard, 68, said he is unlikely to retain his seat, becoming the first Australian leader to be voted out of parliament since 1929. He accepted responsibility for the defeat and anointed his deputy, Treasurer Peter Costello, as his successor.
Australia’s second-longest serving leader, Howard was one of the first allies of U.S. President George W. Bush to send troops to Iraq.
Hopefully Australian Labor won’t turn out to be the woeful, wretched disappointment that the Democrats always have been in the USA. It’s gotten so bad that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to vote for a Democrat again, even the few good ones that their ticket manages to produce. Though I’ll probably lie like a rug and tell my immediate family that I voted for the useless slugs when in fact I voted Green or Libertarian wherever that was an option, simply because I’m no longer interested in hearing the usual craven arguments that don’t amount to a hill of dog-poop.
With all of the sturm and drang re electronic voting in the US and France, etc, etc, etc, the Australian election results give me heart. Midnight Oil rockstar as the environmental minister!!! My rockstarman for years.
My prayer: may sanity find a return in Australia.
Lead the world away from the ways of the U.S. The policies of divisiveness, war, killing, and the hurting of “other” people.
Can’t help it:
the latest Environmental minister in Australia rocks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10BbpGKLXqk