By DPA
Sydney : Australians woke Sunday to a political landscape transformed by a parliamentary election that swept veteran leader John Howard from power, put Kevin Rudd’s Labor Party in government right across the country and sparked upheaval in the vanquished Liberal-National coalition.
With counting not yet over, Labor was confident that a 6.1 percent swing away from the coalition would deliver it up to 90 of the 150 seats in the federal Parliament. Labor leads all nine governments at federal, state and territory level for the first time in Australia’s history.
The second largest swing since World War II is almost certain to see Howard tipped out of the Sydney seat he has held for 33 years.
US President George W. Bush congratulated Rudd on his emphatic victory and paid tribute to his “good friend and ally,” noting that Howard had a “commitment to keeping Australians safe by fighting extremists and their ideology around the world.”
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown phoned Rudd to hail his victory, saying the most significant shift under Labor would be its impending signing of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change and inclusion in a global market for trading carbon credits.
With Howard almost certain to retire from public life, the Liberal Party he has led for 15 years was shocked to learn that his deputy, Peter Costello, would not replace him.
“I will be looking to build a career post-politics in the commercial world,” Costello said. “As a consequence of that, I won’t seek nor will I accept the leadership of the Liberal Party.”
Costello, who was Treasurer during Howard’s 11-year administration, will serve out the next three-year term on the backbenches of Parliament.