In less than three weeks, her fellow Australians are set to oust John Howard, their conservative-minded prime minister of 11Å“ years, and replace him with Kevin Rudd, the Labour leader.
A man of ferocious intellect, but with such boyish features and a fringe so feathery that satirists have nicknamed him Tintin, Mr Rudd seems to be almost home and dry, even though the general election campaign is barely at the halfway point.
Mr Howard's defeat would mean the departure from office of the last of US President George W Bush's original, staunch allies on Iraq, and the withdrawal of Australia's 550 combat troops stationed around Baghdad – both factors that are encouraging voters to desert him for Labour. |