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Rudd sweeps to power in Australian landslide
2007-11-24
Centre-left leader Kevin Rudd stormed to victory in Australia's election Saturday, ending Prime Minister John Howard's 11-year rule with pledges to change course on climate change and the Iraq war. Howard, one of US President George W. Bush's closest allies in the Iraq war, conceded defeat in Sydney and admitted it was "very likely" that he also faced the rare humiliation of losing his own electoral seat. "A few minutes ago I telephoned Mr Rudd and I congratulated him and the Australian Labor Party on a very emphatic victory," the conservative Howard told emotional supporters in a concession speech at a Sydney hotel. Labor's stunning victory, in which it was expected to claim as many as 86 of the parliament's 150 seats, means it now controls the central government and all eight state and territory administrations. Howard wished the Labor Party leader well and told him he was inheriting an economy that was the envy of the world. "He assumes the mantle of the 26th prime minister of Australia and I want to say that there is no prouder job a man can occupy than being the prime minister of Australia," said Howard. Fresh-faced former diplomat Rudd, speaking in his hometown of Brisbane, accepted victory before an ecstatic audience of supporters with a pledge to get down to work immediately and "write a new page in our nation's history." "The future is too important for us not to work together to embrace the challenges of the future and carve out our nation's destiny," Rudd said, flanked by Australia's new first lady, Therese Rein, and their children. The beaming new leader called for the nation to unite and promised he would be "a prime minister for all Australians." "A prime minister for indigenous Australians, Australians who have been born here and Australians who have come here from afar and contributed to the great diversity that is our nation." Rudd, who has attracted criticism from Bush for promising to pull Australian combat troops out of Iraq, where they back the US-led forces, also held out an olive branch to Washington. "I extend our greetings tonight to our great friend and ally the United States," he said. The White House later congratulated Rudd. "The United States and Australia have long been strong partners and allies and the president looks forward to working with this new government to continue our historic relationship," said spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore. In his speech, Rudd spoke of the hardship suffered by Australian farmers, who are facing the country's worst drought in a century, a crisis that has focused national attention on the issue of climate change and Howard's refusal to sign the Kyoto Protocol. Rudd has pledged to ratify the protocol, which aims to curb the emission of the greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. His victory was welcomed in such regard by British premier Gordon Brown. "This is an immediate change for the Australian government," Brown said at the Commonwealth Summit leaders' retreat on the shores of Lake Victoria. "They (Australia) are now signing the Kyoto agreement." While officials continued tallying votes, Howard, 68, accepted full responsibility for his Liberal-National coalition government's defeat, but said he had left a proud legacy. "I want to say on behalf of the coalition that has governed this country for the last 11-and-a-half years that we bequeath to him a nation that is stronger and prouder," said the outgoing prime minister. Howard, who has won four general elections and has presided over Australia's booming economic growth since becoming prime minister in 1996, also acknowledged he was at the end of his political career. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation's vote tally predicted that when the final vote was counted, Labor would win with 53 percent of the vote, compared to 47 for Howard's Liberal-National coalition. That would give Labor 86 seats in the 150-seat lower house of representatives, well above the 76 it needs to take power, while the coalition would be left with just 62, sharply down from the 86 it won in 2004. Independents are likely to win the remaining two lower house seats. Official figures showed Labor with 53.3 percent of the vote compared to 46.7 for the government with 73 percent of votes counted. Howard's seat in the Sydney area of Bennelong hung on a knife edge, with former television newscaster Maxine McKew well within range of victory. If she wins the seat Howard has held since 1974, he would become the first sitting prime minister to lose his parliamentary seat in 78 years.
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