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Firebrand heads Australia's opposition

PHOTO: EPAN

Mark Latham has broken a cab driver's arm in a brawl; he's called US President George W. Bush "incompetent and dangerous." Now he's been elected leader of Australia's chief opposition party.

If he makes good on his promise to reunite and reinvigorate the demoralized Labor Party, this time next year, 42-year-old Latham, an abrasive lawmaker from the blue-collar western suburbs of Sydney, could be prime minister.

At a time when Australia's staunch support for the US-led war on terror and attack on Iraq has raised the profile of foreign policy, Latham has virtually no experience in the field beyond berating Bush and Australian Prime Minister John Howard for sending troops to topple Saddam Hussein.

In a trademark tirade in parliament earlier this year, Latham described Bush as "the most incompetent and dangerous president in living memory." And he used a crude expletive to describe Howard's close relationship with the US president.

He refused to back away from the comments following his election yesterday but did voice his support for Australia's military pact with Washington that was signed in the aftermath of World War II and is a cornerstone of national security.

"I am not here to make character references on President Bush."

Mark Latham, leader of Australia's Labor Party

"I said that in the context of the debate and I think it is best left there in the context of that debate we had in the parliament. I am not here to make character references on President Bush," Latham said. But he added: "I believe in the American alliance and I have always believed in the US."

And he pledged: "No more crudity."

Pitting the volatile and colorful Latham against the unflappable and gray Howard is a gamble Labor lawmakers believe they had to take if they are to stand any chance of winning next year's election after trailing Howard in polls ever since the 2001 election.

"[Labor] has decided to take the gamble, to put all their chips on the number zero on the roulette wheel," former Labor lawmaker Michael Lee told Sky News Television.

If Howard wins, it will be his fourth straight election victory and he will go down as one of the most successful and enduring leaders in Australian political history.

In his first parliamentary question time, Latham clearly staked out the territory on which he wants to fight Howard -- and it was all domestic: healthcare, child care and education. The only nod to foreign policy was to repeat Labor's well-worn criticism of Howard for refusing to sign the Kyoto Treaty on global warming.

But foreign policy and its effect on national security is sure to be a key election issue next year and it is one of Howard's strengths. He even managed to keep his popularity intact despite mass street demonstrations earlier this year by hundreds of thousands of protesters angry at his decision to send 2,000 troops to fight in Iraq.

While Howard has been accused of turning his back on Asia in favor of bolstering links with Washington, he has remained engaged in the region where Australia sells billions of dollars worth of exports each year.

It was Howard who helped mobilize an Australian-led international troop force that quelled violence in East Timor in 1999 and recently inked major trade deals with Beijing.

The signing ceremony came during a visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) to Canberra last month, the day after Bush dropped in on the capital to thank Howard and Australia for supporting the war on terror and Iraq conflict. The high-profile doubleheader underscored Howard's success at juggling links with both Asia and the US.

The attacks in Bali in October last year that killed 202 people including 88 Australians had the positive knock-on effect of ushering in a new era of cooperation between police and intelligence agencies in the two countries.

It remains to be seen if Latham can master the restrained diplomacy Howard successfully employs in dealing with his sometimes fractious Asian neighbors.

While Latham will have to tone down his rhetoric if he is to keep Australia's overseas relations intact, his first priority is to reunite a Labor Party mired in despair and division after nearly eight years in opposition.
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