ISLAM AND POLITICS

My Article was Quoted by BBC

Mr Rudd is to become Australia's 26th prime minist

Papers mull Australia election 'quake'

Newspapers in the Asia-Pacific region have differing opinions over the election defeat of Australia's Prime Minister John Howard by his Labor opponent Kevin Rudd.

Much of the Australian press portray it as a watershed for the nation's politics, but media in other nations seem convinced it will be business as usual.

An earthquake has transformed the landscape: a new generation of Labor politicians has arisen to manage the national agenda, and the Liberal Party has collapsed into turmoil after the loss of power in every parliament in the land.

Australia's political landscape has changed utterly. The Howard era is over. Emphatically it is over.

Under Kevin Rudd, Australia must be more egalitarian and abandon the arrogance of being the US' sheriff in Asia-Pacific. Rudd must not maintain Howard's bossy style.

Howard's downfall has further confirmed the assumption that world politicians who follow US President George Bush's policy will collapse sooner or later. After the resignation of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, now it is Howard's turn to fall. For Indonesia, it is hoped that the new Australian leader can build more equal and friendly bilateral relations.

Australia's diplomatic priorities will not change, and foreign policy priorities towards the US will not change... Rudd's 'China expertise' is the result of acquired learning and personal interest, and he is first of all an Australian citizen and second Australian prime minister.

For the full coverage of this news, please check it out.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7112792.stm

posted by Alin at 3:32 PM