...in Australia, as the Labor party wins a sweeping mandate.
I know that my conservative friends will be thrilled.
Hope everyone has been enjoying their extended Thanksgiving weekend. If you had paid time off...thank a liberal!
Australia’s Labor sweeps to power
Conservative Howard ousted; policy changes on global warming, Iraq ahead
The Associated Press
updated 9:45 a.m. ET, Sat., Nov. 24, 2007
SYDNEY, Australia - Conservative Prime Minister John Howard suffered a humiliating defeat Saturday at the hands of the left-leaning opposition, whose leader has promised to immediately sign the Kyoto Protocol on global warming and withdraw Australia's combat troops from Iraq.
Labor Party head Kevin Rudd's pledges on global warming and Iraq move Australia sharply away from policies that had made Howard one of President Bush's staunchest allies.
Rudd has named global warming as his top priority, and his signing of the Kyoto Protocol will leave the U.S. as the only industrialized country not to have joined it.
Rudd said he would withdraw Australia's 550 combat troops from Iraq, leaving twice that number in mostly security roles. Howard had said all the troops will stay as long as needed.
Clear majority projected
Official figures from the Australian Electoral Commission showed Labor far in front after more than 70 percent of the ballots had been counted _ with 53 percent of the vote compared to 46.7 percent for Howard's coalition.
Using those figures, an Australian Broadcasting Corp. analysis showed that Labor would get at least 81 places in the 150-seat lower house of Parliament _ a clear majority.
It was an embarrassing end to the career of Howard, Australia's second-longest serving leader.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21945113/
I know that my conservative friends will be thrilled.
Hope everyone has been enjoying their extended Thanksgiving weekend. If you had paid time off...thank a liberal!
Australia’s Labor sweeps to power
Conservative Howard ousted; policy changes on global warming, Iraq ahead
The Associated Press
updated 9:45 a.m. ET, Sat., Nov. 24, 2007
SYDNEY, Australia - Conservative Prime Minister John Howard suffered a humiliating defeat Saturday at the hands of the left-leaning opposition, whose leader has promised to immediately sign the Kyoto Protocol on global warming and withdraw Australia's combat troops from Iraq.
Labor Party head Kevin Rudd's pledges on global warming and Iraq move Australia sharply away from policies that had made Howard one of President Bush's staunchest allies.
Rudd has named global warming as his top priority, and his signing of the Kyoto Protocol will leave the U.S. as the only industrialized country not to have joined it.
Rudd said he would withdraw Australia's 550 combat troops from Iraq, leaving twice that number in mostly security roles. Howard had said all the troops will stay as long as needed.
Clear majority projected
Official figures from the Australian Electoral Commission showed Labor far in front after more than 70 percent of the ballots had been counted _ with 53 percent of the vote compared to 46.7 percent for Howard's coalition.
Using those figures, an Australian Broadcasting Corp. analysis showed that Labor would get at least 81 places in the 150-seat lower house of Parliament _ a clear majority.
It was an embarrassing end to the career of Howard, Australia's second-longest serving leader.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21945113/
