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The War in Iraq Influences Elections

The War in Iraq has dictated the fate of several elections. A recent example comes to mind in regards to the Australian elections. Looking back, Australian Prime Minister John Howard, managed to escape the fate of his Spaniard counterpart, Jos? Aznar by winning a landslide victory in the Australian elections months ago. Has Howard?s stance on the war in Iraq made the difference?

Mr. Howard`s then challenger, Mark Latham, attempted to play on dissatisfaction over the war in Iraq by pledging to pull out Australian troops from Iraqi soil by Christmas, repeating the promise that swept socialists to victory in Spain earlier this year.

The "bring the boys home" campaign, has found little success among Australians. Even though most of the Australians voters opposed the Iraq war, they were more concerned that a change in government could rattle Australia"s strong economy and real estate boom. The end result might hold a lesson for President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair: economic stewardship can overshadow war discontent.