Top > World > 2006 > July > 2006-07-10

Australian PM Focus of Past Promises

A political scandal has hit Down Under, with the revelation that twelve years ago current Australian prime minister John Howard apparently promised to hand over the leadership of the Liberal Party after two terms in office ? he has almost finished four full terms. Peter Costello was the man who Howard purportedly made the promise to. Mr. Howard, for his part, has denied the allegations while Mr. Costello has remained mum. Another Liberal Party member and former minister has said he witnessed the promise be made.

With Mr. Howard approaching the end of his fourth term, questions abound as to whether or not he will run for a fifth. The last weekend saw accusations arise that said the Australian government helped an Australian company avoid answering for having possibly taken part in providing kickbacks to Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein under the United Nations? ?Oil for Food? program. Australia currently has over 1,000 troops serving with the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq. The leader of the opposition in the Australian parliament, Kim Beazley, has called for Howard to come clean, and quickly.

However, those close to the prime minister state that it is unlikely he will make any sort of decision or announcement until Christmas is a little closer. In the early 1990s a similar ?he promised me this? deal wracked Australia, with a leadership-handover deal apparently promised that, like the current Howard-Costello imbroglio, left more questions than answers for the public to discuss.