(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Most people in Australia decry their former prime minister’s ties with the previous president of the United States, according to a poll by Essential Research. 55 per cent of respondents say the close relationship between John Howard and George W. Bush was of no benefit to Australia.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Most people in Australia decry their former prime minister’s ties with the previous president of the United States, according to a poll by Essential Research. 55 per cent of respondents say the close relationship between John Howard and George W. Bush was of no benefit to Australia.
Conversely, 62 per cent of respondents say close ties between current prime minister Kevin Rudd and U.S. president Barack Obama will benefit Australia.
Australia held a federal election in November 2007. Final results gave the Australian Labor Party (ALP) 85 seats in the 150-member House of Representatives. ALP leader Rudd was officially sworn in as prime minister in December, bringing an end to the 11-year tenure of Liberal leader Howard as head of Australia’s government.
In American elections, candidates require 270 votes in the Electoral College to win the White House. In November 2008, Democratic nominee Obama secured a majority of electoral votes, defeating Republican candidate John McCain. On Jan. 20, Obama became the first African American president in U.S. history. Bush—a Republican—served two four-year terms.
Bush and Howard maintained a close relationship in both diplomatic and personal terms, with the American president criticizing the ALP’s position on Iraq before the 2004 Australian legislative election.
On Jan. 28, Obama called Rudd on the phone. An unnamed spokeswoman for Rudd declared: "The two leaders discussed the global economy and need for coordinated international action in the present global recession, including through effective fiscal stimulus, (and) reconfirmed the closeness of the Australia-U.S. alliance and foreshadowed an even more active partnership into the future."
Polling Data
Do you think the close relationship between John Howard and George Bush was of benefit or of no benefit to Australia?
|
Benefit |
29% |
|
No benefit |
55% |
|
Don’t know |
15% |
Do you think a close relationship between Kevin Rudd and Barack Obama will be of benefit or of no benefit to Australia?
|
Benefit |
62% |
|
No benefit |
15% |
|
Don’t know |
23% |
Source: Essential Research
Methodology: Online interviews with 1,011 Australian adults, conducted from Jan. 20 to Jan. 25, 2009. No margin of error was provided.
