How Did Elizabeth III Influence Australia's Contribution
AUSTRALIA'S KHAKI ELECTION
By Mahir Ali
A certain phenomenon witnessed of late in parts of the Western world must have excited the envy of many a Muslim ruler, elected or - more likely - not. Nine-Eleven, as last month's horrific events in New York and Washington have been dubbed by the imaginative Americans, and the declaration of war against virtually defenceless Afghanistan appear to have been accompanied by an extraordinary surge in support for incumbent leaders, particularly in the US, Britain and Australia. George W. Bush desperately required reaffirmation of his leadership, not least because in last year's farcical presidential contest he obtained less votes than his Democratic opponent. The recently re-elected Tony Blair, faced …show more content…
Australia, which still recognizes Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state, is widely seen as a British subsidiary. Ironically for the prime minister, who vociferously campaigned for the "no" vote in the republican referendum organized a couple of years ago, Australia's contribution, practically irrelevant though it may be in strategic terms, would nonetheless have been accorded greater respect had the nation opted to break free from its colonial moorings. Delusions about Australia's place in the world are also common on the island-continent. Mr Howard's Labor predecessor, Paul Keating, tried to make amends by recognizing geopolitical realities and trying to establish better relations with Australia's neighbours, such as Indonesia. Oddly enough (or perhaps not), Canberra enjoyed closer ties with Jakarta under the Suharto dictatorship than it does now. President Megawati Sukarnoputri returned none of Mr Howard's calls when he was desperately trying to contact her during the Tampa crisis, and she was decidedly cool to him during the APEC summit in Shanghai, having been advised to steer clear of
By Mahir Ali
A certain phenomenon witnessed of late in parts of the Western world must have excited the envy of many a Muslim ruler, elected or - more likely - not. Nine-Eleven, as last month's horrific events in New York and Washington have been dubbed by the imaginative Americans, and the declaration of war against virtually defenceless Afghanistan appear to have been accompanied by an extraordinary surge in support for incumbent leaders, particularly in the US, Britain and Australia. George W. Bush desperately required reaffirmation of his leadership, not least because in last year's farcical presidential contest he obtained less votes than his Democratic opponent. The recently re-elected Tony Blair, faced …show more content…
Australia, which still recognizes Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state, is widely seen as a British subsidiary. Ironically for the prime minister, who vociferously campaigned for the "no" vote in the republican referendum organized a couple of years ago, Australia's contribution, practically irrelevant though it may be in strategic terms, would nonetheless have been accorded greater respect had the nation opted to break free from its colonial moorings. Delusions about Australia's place in the world are also common on the island-continent. Mr Howard's Labor predecessor, Paul Keating, tried to make amends by recognizing geopolitical realities and trying to establish better relations with Australia's neighbours, such as Indonesia. Oddly enough (or perhaps not), Canberra enjoyed closer ties with Jakarta under the Suharto dictatorship than it does now. President Megawati Sukarnoputri returned none of Mr Howard's calls when he was desperately trying to contact her during the Tampa crisis, and she was decidedly cool to him during the APEC summit in Shanghai, having been advised to steer clear of