In what may be a foreshadow of things to come on November 2nd, Australia voted this past weekend to re-elect the conservative incumbent, Prime Minister John Howard. The labor party campaigned vigorously against Howard's war record, and their candidate, Mark Latham, promised to bring troops home by Christmas. Howard, on the other hand, pledged to keep Australian troops in Iraq until Iraq security forces are prepared to handle the job themselves.
To be fair, Howard scored well on domestic issues. Like the United States, Australia's unemployment, inflation, and interest rates are low by historical standards. In addition, the Australian economy has grown in each of Howard's 9 years in office. As a result, the liberal Labor Party was forced to make the Iraq War the centerpiece of their campaign. Unfortunately for the liberals, not only did Howard win the election, but the conservative party increased their majority in parliament.
USANow is left to wonder: Will the United States follow the path of the Aussies or the Spaniards?
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
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