Kevin Rudd: In Australia, the rise of a political nerd
Earnest, bookish, and nerdy, Labor Party chief Kevin Rudd is poised to lead Australia.
from the September 21, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
Is Australia ready for Kevin?
Part of Rudd's appeal lies in his novelty. He is 50, but looks younger. His round face, spectacles, and shock of silver hair have earned him the nicknames Harry Potter, Tintin, and the Milky Bar Kid. For his deep Christian faith and devotion to family values, the father of three has been dubbed St. Kevin.
Nor has he escaped the sharp-tongued wit of Australia's best known cross-dressing comedian. "Do we want a prime minister who looks like a dentist?" Dame Edna Everage, aka comedian Barry Humphries, asked of the Labor leader in a recent stage show. "Is Australia ready for a leader named Kevin?"
Even as his popularity improves, Rudd is nevertheless seen as a bit of a nerd. Nevertheless, on the advice of his closest confidantes, Rudd has worked hard to shed his image as a brainy technocrat.
"It's been a conscious effort to make himself more of an Everyman," says Mr. Stuart. "He can mix it with the typically ocker [working-class] bloke if he has to. Australians see a genuine attempt to engage with ordinary people."
But despite the boyish monikers, Rudd is deadly serious, and his reputation as an intellectual is not a bad thing, says Nick Economou, a political scientist from Monash University in Melbourne.
"At the end of the day, Australians want their governments to be good governments," he says. "He's bright, capable, and conservative. He was never a unionist and he is no friend of the unions – in fact, I think he'll have some very tense relations with them. He comes across as someone who is dependable and trustworthy."
Rudd, who spent most of his career as a member of Australia's foreign service, has vowed to withdraw the country's 550 combat troops from Iraq but to leave in place the remaining 1,000 other personnel – including sailors patrolling the Persian Gulf, military training teams, and Embassy protection guards in Baghdad – who work in and around the Gulf region.
Australia has yet to suffer a single combat casualty in Iraq, but the war is not popular at home. Many Australians feel that Howard's support for his friend, President George Bush, has been too slavish and sycophantic.
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