November 12, 2007. Copyright 2007, Graphic News. All rights reserved

Is Rudd set to hasten PM HowardÕs end?
By Joanna Griffin

LONDON, November 12, Graphic News:  Australian Labor Party leader Kevin Rudd, the man once dubbed Dr Death because of his clinical approach and supposed lack of charisma, is hoping that voters choose him to breathe new life into national politics after more than a decade under Prime Minister John Howard.

As Australia prepares to vote in elections on November 24, most polls give Rudd a clear lead over the veteran leader of the coalition government. While Howard has so far been dismissive of his challenger, Rudd, 50, knows his country is in the mood for change. 

ÒOur country has a future thatÕs too full of promise to allow a government thatÕs been in office for 11 years, a government thatÕs lost touch, a government thatÕs gone stale, just to continue onÓ, he told a crowd in Brisbane when the election date was announced.

If he pulls it off, becoming prime minister would be a remarkable achievement for a man whose early life was far from auspicious. Born in 1957 in Nambour, Queensland, Rudd grew up on a dairy farm until age 11, when his mother Margaret was compelled to leave with her two children after the death of his share farmer father. 

Rudd has said that the hardships the family faced have informed his political views: he joined the ALP at the tender age of 15. He studied Chinese language and history in Canberra and began working for the Department of Foreign Affairs. He and his wife spent almost a decade in foreign postings including Beijing and Stockholm.

RuddÕs passionate interest in Asia has been a constant throughout his career. In 1992, more than a decade before he would upstage Howard by addressing ChinaÕs President Hu Jintao in fluent Mandarin in September, he was developing a widely praised Asian cultures and languages programme in his role as chief of staff for the Labor premier of Queensland. He then worked as China consultant for accountants KMPG Australia.

In 1998 he won his second attempt to enter parliament with the Queensland seat of Griffith, and his political career began in earnest. Rudd was Shadow Minister of Foreign Affairs before winning the ALP leadership contest in December 2006. 

Since then the mild-mannered, committed Christian Rudd has been seen as a welcome antidote to the tough-talking Howard even though his character has been called into question. Some opponents allege that he has embellished the stories of his familyÕs struggle, and in August news of drunken escapades at a Manhattan strip club several years ago prompted a public apology.

Even so, such is the mood in Australia that it now seems hard for Rudd to put a foot wrong. Some commentators claim the strip club saga might even have increased his appeal while his foreign experience and reputation for fiscal cautiousness make it hard for Howard to portray him as a risky prospect. 

Voters certainly like his commitment to the Kyoto agreement, which Howard refused to sign, and his pledges to withdraw combat troops from Iraq. He has also promised to reverse HowardÕs unpopular industrial relations reforms.

Tellingly, these days few recall his old nickname of Dr Death and he is more likely to be referred to as ÒTintinÓ or ÒPixieÓ -- another indication that the public is preparing to go for the polite, fresh faced newcomer over the abrasive incumbent.
/ENDS