ninme

The Telegraph - John Howard’s example

That’s how to do it, Gordon Brown. The Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, is even further behind than you are: by 11 points according to some polls, by 18 according to others.

Yet he has gone to the country in apparently good cheer, making a brave appeal to the voters: “Love me or loathe me, the Australian people know where I stand on all the major issues.”

Sounds like Bush.

It’s true. Australians value sincerity in their politicians, and courage, too, which is why Mr Howard may yet do better than the raw polling data indicate. He came from behind to win in 2001 and 2004, and must rank as one of the canniest campaigners in Australian history.

sniffle

His record is all the more remarkable when one considers what an apparently unprepossessing character he is, with his diffident manner, grey appearance and tired voice.

Yet this uncharismatic 68-year-old career politician has been elected four times on the trot. How has he done it? By creating an economic miracle: Australia has grown for 16 consecutive years, an expansion not known since the 19th-century gold rushes.

Yaaay!

At the same time, Mr Howard has aligned himself with the majority against the metropolitan elites, whom he has portrayed, with justice, as being obsessed with issues that most voters regard as marginal: integration with East Asia, Aboriginal relations, republicanism.

With his tough stance on immigration, his support for the West’s anti-terrorist campaign, and his plain-spoken patriotism, Mr Howard comes across as a strong, dependable leader.

Indeed, Thatcher-like, he may now be a victim of his own success, for Labor has belatedly accepted most of his dispensation. Kevin Rudd, the goody-goody opposition leader, launched his own campaign wearing a blue shirt and tie, with the word “Labor” kept carefully off camera.

Sounds like Democrats.