Proud to be Thatcherite

Canberra

John Howard is defying political gravity. After nearly ten years as Prime Minister of Australia he has no serious challengers. Tony Blair, by contrast, hobbles along performing an excellent impression of a fellow in the crippled poultry phase of his leadership. At 66, Howard is 14 years older than Blair. He has served a year longer in office, and he has won four elections to Blair’s three. You might think that Howard would be at least as burdened by scandal, disillusion, infighting, ennui and fatigue as the younger man. But you’d be wrong.

Indeed, Howard is being encouraged by many in the Liberal party — Australia’s equivalent of the Conservative party — to soldier onwards and upwards to a fifth campaign in 2007. Like Blair, Howard has an impatient deputy frothing to take his job. But the Australian PM has been way too canny to set himself an exit date.