Howard Wins Fourth Term in Australia

Prime Minister John Howard and his conservative coalition easily won reelection Saturday as voters endorsed his economic platform despite misgivings about his decision to send troops to Iraq.

Labor Party leader Mark Latham, who pledged to bring most of Australia’s 850 troops in Iraq home by Christmas, was unable to persuade voters to abandon Howard’s ruling coalition, which has presided over 8 1/2 years of economic growth.

“I am truly humbled by this extraordinary expression of confidence in the leadership of this great nation by the coalition,” a beaming Howard, 65, said after winning his fourth term as prime minister.

“We are joyful that the verdict has been given by the Australian people.”

Howard’s defeat would have been a setback for President Bush, who counts on Australia as a key contributor to the international forces deployed in Iraq.

Howard has gone out of his way to carry out Washington’s wishes. Bush described the prime minister this year as a “close personal friend.” At a campaign event Saturday in St. Louis, Bush congratulated Howard and called the results “a great victory.”

Latham, 43, who tried to tap public discontent over the war, once branded Bush “the most incompetent and dangerous president in living memory.”

But though many Australians oppose the war, voters were not inclined to withdraw troops -- and risk alienating the U.S.

In the end, voters zeroed in on the economy as the most important issue and decided against handing power to an untested leader of a new generation who is known for his coarse vocabulary and for breaking a cab driver’s arm in a dispute over a fare.

Polls had indicated that the election would be close, but in the final days Howard appeared to have won over much of the undecided vote while Latham’s campaign ran out of steam.

With 78% of the vote counted, Howard’s ruling coalition had won at least 83 of the 150 seats in Parliament’s lower house, enlarging its majority by at least two seats. Seven seats were too close to call.

The coalition, which is made up of the Liberal and National parties, was leading the Labor Party 52% to 48% in the popular vote.

After the outcome became clear, Latham telephoned Howard to congratulate him and then told a crowd of supporters, “Tonight is not our night.”

“We ran on principle,” Latham said. “We ran on our positive beliefs about hope and opportunity in this country.”

During the campaign, Howard repeatedly said the election was about trust -- in particular, which party the voters trusted to keep the economy strong and combat the threat of terrorism.

“This nation, by reason of the circumstances of history and by reason of its great capacity and the great capacity and dedication of the Australian people, this nation stands on the threshold of a new era of great achievement,” Howard told his cheering supporters Saturday night.

Howard did not directly mention Iraq in his victory speech but applauded Australia’s part in helping overthrow Afghanistan’s Taliban regime three years ago, paving the way for a presidential election there Saturday.

“That election has been made possible by reason of the fact that a number of countries, including Australia, were prepared to take a stand for democracy and to take a stand against terrorism,” the prime minister said.

“We should be proud of the role that we have played in their liberation, just as we should be proud of the role that Australia has played in many other areas in standing for the values we believe in.”

Latham spoke out against the war in Iraq early in the year, but never made his pledge to bring the troops home a central element of his campaign.

Instead, he chose to slug it out with Howard on economic issues, the prime minister’s strongest suit.

Latham’s proposal in the final days to save Tasmania’s giant trees from logging appears to have backfired. Howard countered Latham’s plan with a proposal to protect timber jobs in Tasmania, and many forest industry workers in the southern state defected to his camp.

The Labor Party, which had held all five seats from Tasmania in the lower house, was losing two of them to Howard’s Liberal Party.

Latham had hoped his forest proposal would generate support from environment-minded voters, but a significant shift never materialized.

Howard, a savvy politician and skilled debater, was jubilant as he delivered his victory speech with family members by his side.

“To be the prime minister of Australia is undoubtedly the greatest privilege that can come the way of any person,” he said.