Kevin Rudd: In Australia, the rise of a political nerd

Earnest, bookish, and nerdy, Labor Party chief Kevin Rudd is poised to lead Australia.

By Nick Squires | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

from the September 21, 2007 edition

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Sydney, Australia - Of the stories circulating about Kevin Rudd, the boyish, bookish head of Australia's Labor Party and the man tipped to become the next prime minister, one of the most popular concerns a party back in 1996, around the time when Mr. Rudd was trying to break into federal politics.

"There was a barbecue, with people standing around, talking about rugby. Kevin comes along and chirps up with something about how interesting it will be when China engages in world trade," says Nicholas Stuart, a Canberra journalist whose unauthorized biography of the politician was published in June. "All of a sudden, people discovered their glasses needed refilling. He had that ability to clear a room."

Since then, China has engaged in world trade and Rudd managed to make his way onto the federal political scene. Both have been resounding successes – and now the former diplomat (who speaks fluent Mandarin) is poised to unseat Australia's second-longest-serving leader. And on the international stage, he may have already outshone him: At the recent APEC summit in Sydney, Howard stood by as Rudd chatted comfortably in Chinese with President Hu Jintao.

A Rudd government may substantially alter Australia's relations with the rest of the world. Polls show that Australian federal elections, due to be held within weeks, will give voice to an electorate that has grown disenchanted with Prime Minister John Howard's staunch support for the war in Iraq, his slowness in acting on climate change, and the tough new industrial relations reforms he has introduced.

By contrast, since becoming Labor's leader last December, Rudd has pledged to withdraw Australia's numerically small, but politically significant, contingent of troops from Iraq. And he has promised to sign the Kyoto Protocol on global warming, an action that would leave the United States even more isolated among developed countries in its refusal to ratify the treaty.

Where once he looked unassailable, Prime Minister Howard's grip on power now looks increasingly frail.

Howard may yet manage to rally his troops, but many Australians are preparing for a Rudd government by Christmas. An election date has yet to be announced, but it will almost certainly be called before early December.

The latest opinion poll this week gives Labor a 55 to 45 percent lead over the government. It also showed that Rudd's personal approval rating had risen to 67 percent, while Howard's remains steady at 50 percent.

Howard has delivered more than a decade of economic prosperity to Australia, but many voters have become bored with him. He's been appearing on their evening television screens since 1996. He is 68, and recently became a grandfather. To some commentators, he has the air of yesterday's man.

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