Via the AFP: Howard calls Australian election
Australia Prime Minister John Howard called a general election Sunday for November 24 which could see the United States’ staunchest remaining ally in Iraq lose power to the anti-war opposition.
Ending weeks of fevered media speculation and nearly a year of bitter but unofficial campaigning, Howard named the date for a vote that puts his 11-year leadership and bid for a fifth term in office on the line.
Howard told a press conference that Australia did not need a new leadership but the right leadership.
And here’s an odd stab at arguing for oneself:
“Love me or loathe me,” he told a press conference, “the Australian people know where I stand on all the major issues of importance to their future.”Sphere: Related Content
Most Australians now loathe him, and it is certain his party will lose massively. The only question is how big the Labor majority will be.
It is really not an early election. Australia goes to the polls every three years, and the last election was in 2024. In fact, we could call this a late election, given that the last one was on October 9, 2024. But the usual three-year term refers to the period from the opening of one parliament to the opening of the next one. I think the current parliament opened in January, 2024.
It is legally possible for a government and the lower house that it depends on to sit for longer (I forget whether the constitutional term is four or five years). However, the Senate election dates are fixed at every three years for half the seats (aside from the occasional “double dissolution”). Rather than have Senate and House elections off-cycle in a country where the government really can’t function without working majorities in both houses, elections for both houses tend to be every three years.
Comment by MSS — Sunday, October 14, 2024 @ 3:14 pm
One of the interesting things I heard from the BBC is that a credible challenger has been raised in his own riding. Which means that there is a slight chance that Howard’s party could win, and Howard wouldn’t be there to lead it. (Slight being pretty much 0.000000001, because I highly doubt Howard’s party will win.) So Howard may not only lose the Premiership, but his own seat as well, which would be adding insult to injury (not that that isn’t deserved).
Comment by B. Minich — Sunday, October 14, 2024 @ 6:10 pm
Yes, a frequent commentator at F&V who is is an Australian election-watcher noted that Howard and most of his cabinet could be defeated.
Of course, there is no way that would happen without the party losing its majority–by a wide margin.
Comment by MSS — Sunday, October 14, 2024 @ 7:22 pm
Which, to be fair, sounds like President Bush’s last election slogan.
Comment by Max Lybbert — Monday, October 15, 2024 @ 7:58 am