Labor wins election

[uopa]

SYDNEY, Australia, Nov. 24 -- Australia's prime minister, John Howard,
one of President Bush's staunchest allies in Asia, suffered a
comprehensive defeat at the hands of the electorate on Saturday, as
his Liberal Party-led coalition lost its majority in Parliament.
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Sergio Dionisio/Getty Images

Prime Minister John Howard conceded defeat.

He will be replaced by Kevin Rudd, the Labor Party leader and a former
diplomat. "Today Australia looks to the future," Mr. Rudd told a
cheering crowd in his home state of Queensland. "Today the Australian
people have decided that we as a nation will move forward."

Mr. Howard's defeat, after 11 years in power, follows that of José
María Aznar of Spain, who also backed the United States-led invasion
of Iraq, and political setbacks for Tony Blair of Britain.

Mr. Howard conceded nearly two hours after the last polling booths
closed in the west of the country.

"A few moments ago I telephoned Mr. Kevin Rudd and I congratulated him
and the Australian Labor Party on a very emphatic victory," Mr. Howard
told a roomful of emotional supporters.

"I leave the office of prime minister with our country prouder,
stronger and more prosperous than ever," he said.

Returns for a small number of seats are yet to be compiled, but
analysts estimate that over all the Labor Party gained 28 seats to win
a comfortable 22-seat majority in the 150-seat lower house of
Parliament, where governments are formed. Official results are
expected within the next day or two.

Mr. Howard may suffer the indignity of losing his own seat in the
Sydney suburb of Bennelong, which he has held for 33 years, to a
former television anchor and rookie politician. He would be the first
sitting prime minister to lose his seat since 1929.

It was a bruising campaign, and the Liberal Party has said it will
challenge some results on the grounds that the Labor candidates had
broken electoral law by failing to resign from government jobs before
running for office. The Labor Party said it had broken no laws.

Mr. Rudd, 50, campaigned on a platform of new leadership to address
broad concerns about the environment, health and education. He has
said his first acts as prime minister would include pushing for the
ratification of the Kyoto agreement on reducing greenhouse gas
emissions and negotiating the withdrawal of Australia's 500 troops
from Iraq.

Analysts said the leadership change was unlikely to bring a radically
new foreign policy, although they expected a shift in emphasis in the
relationship with the United States, Australia's closest ally.
"Australia will remain a close ally of the United States, and Rudd
remains committed to the alliance," said Michael Fullilove, of the
Lowy Institute for International Policy in Sydney. But he noted that
"if there is a Democratic administration elected next year, to some
extent they would become closer."

Mr. Howard has a strong personal relationship with Mr. Bush that is
based on a similar socially conservative philosophy and a shared
outlook on terrorism.

Australian opinion polls have shown that although Australians remain
strong supporters of the so-called Anzus alliance -- the security pact
among Australia, New Zealand and the United States -- they do not
approve of Mr. Bush or the Iraq war.

The attempts by Mr. Howard's coalition to stress its economic record
apparently failed to impress voters. The Australian economy has had 17
years of continuous growth, lately driven by Chinese demand for
Australian iron ore and coal. Mr. Howard had warned voters that a
Labor victory would endanger the country's prosperity.

But despite the coalition campaign, there was little distance between
the parties on economic policy, and the defining characteristics came
down to the personalities of the leaders. In addition, Mr. Howard was
running for a historic fifth term, and many voters said they were
ready for a change.

"Howard is out of touch," said George Varvaressos, 52, who voted in
eastern Sydney on Saturday morning. "It's the arrogance of being in
power for too long -- he hasn't been listening."

If Australia's strongest military and political alliance is with
Washington, the fuel for its economy is coming from China. Mr.
Fullilove says Mr. Rudd's ability to manage the relationship among
Canberra, Washington and Beijing would be crucial.

Mr. Rudd, 18 years younger than Mr. Howard, has a reputation as a
cerebral student of policy, as opposed to the Liberal leader's image
of a hardened and aggressive political animal.

"He seems more personable, approachable. He doesn't seem arrogant --
yet -- and I have respect for him," said Marcelle Freiman, who voted
for Mr. Rudd in eastern Sydney on Saturday.

Mr. Rudd's dry image was altered by the news that he had visited a
strip club during a trip to New York in 2003.

He was a diplomat in Beijing and speaks Mandarin. He impressed many
with a fluent address to Chinese President Hu Jintao when Mr. Hu
visited Australia in September.

Mr. Fullilove said Mr. Rudd's experience regarding China is unlikely
to make a significant difference to Australia's relationship with the
United States. "I would counsel against people assuming that because
Kevin Rudd speaks Mandarin there would be a big rebalancing of the
relationship in favor of Beijing," he said.==