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Rudd win ushers in new era for Australia politics
The Labor leader, to be sworn in as prime minister Thursday, gained ground with vows to shift policy on Iraq and climate change.
By Nick Squires | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitorfrom the November 26, 2007 edition
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SYDNEY - A tumultuous 24 hours propelled Australia into a new political era Sunday, with prime minister-elect Kevin Rudd offering generational change and fresh ideas on issues ranging from climate change to education.
Mr. Rudd will distance Australia from the United States in some respects by signing the Kyoto Protocol on global warming and withdrawing troops from Iraq.
The former diplomat and Labor Party leader, who is expected to be sworn in and to name his cabinet Thursday, swept to power in Saturday's federal election, bringing to an end 11 years of conservative government under John Howard.
Like British Prime Minister Tony Blair before him, Mr. Howard was damaged by backing the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq. Rudd's pledge to sign Kyoto was also seen as key to his win at a time when the worst drought on record has focused Australians' minds on global warming.
Rudd announced Sunday that he would visit Washington early next year to discuss the withdrawal of Australia's tiny but politically significant 550 combat troops. He will keep in place another 1,000 military personnel, including Navy warships in the Persian Gulf and a diplomatic protection contingent in Baghdad.
Rudd has said that he is "rock solid" on the military alliance between Australia and the US. "I think there'll be awkwardness rather than embarrassment," says political scientist John Hart, an expert at the Australian National University. "The US is also talking about withdrawing troops, so I don't think they'll see this as a major problem in the bilateral relationship."
The man likely to become foreign minister also offered words of assurance to Washington. "Labor is not calling for a precipitous overnight withdrawal, and we are certainly not going to leave our American mates in the lurch," said Robert McClelland.
Further softening the blow is Rudd's commitment to maintain troops in Afghanistan and perhaps even to increase the numbers.
Bush, who counted Howard as a friend and praised him as a "man of steel," congratulated Rudd, and the White House issued a statement saying that "the president looks forward to working with this new government to continue our historic relationship."
Howard, Australia's second-longest serving prime minister, also congratulated Rudd and stated that, "We bequeath him a nation that is stronger, prouder, and more prosperous than it was 11-1/2 years ago."
But Howard looked likely even to lose his own seat, becoming the first sitting prime minister since 1929 to be dumped by voters. He has represented Bennelong, an electorate in Sydney, for 33 years. His hold there will be decided by tallying postal votes in the next few days.
