WSJ: Australia's Iraq War

Wall Street Journal ^ | September 27, 2004 | Editorial

[OESY]

...Australians go to the polls next week to choose a new parliament and perhaps a new prime minister. John Howard, the current prime minister, is a staunch U.S. ally, one of the first national leaders, along with Britain's Tony Blair and Spain's José María Aznar, to send troops to fight alongside the Americans in Iraq.

Mr. Howard's principal opponent, Labor's Mark Latham, has chosen to make Australia's participation in the multinational coalition in Iraq the main issue in his campaign. Following the lead of Spain's José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who defeated Mr. Aznar's party last spring after the terrible terrorist attack on commuter trains in Madrid, Mr. Latham promises to bring Australian troops "home for Christmas."

...But Australia is not Spain. It is a measure of just how different attitudes are Down Under that Mr. Latham understands that he's unlikely to win if he presents himself as Mr. Zapatero. In response to direct rebuttals from the Howard Administration -- whose foreign minister last week called the U.S. alliance "fundamental to our security" -- Mr. Latham has had to hedge his bets....

...Howard leading his opponent 47% to 37% as Australians' first choice for PM, and his Liberal-National coalition beating Labor 43% to 41%. But... Labor could win a slight majority after minority-party "preference votes" are counted....

If Australians decide to give Mr. Howard a fourth term in office they'll know pretty much what they're getting on issues other than foreign policy too. The economy is growing at a 4.1% clip, the main stock index is at an all-time high, and the job market is so tight that some companies are having problems finding new hires. Mr. Latham is a center-left politician with policies close to those familiar in European welfare states....

[DM1]

I hope that howard wins
he will always have my respect for helping us that is for sure