Word: howard
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...early days, the ardent Liberal-National coalition that replaced 13 years of reformist Labor rule was raw and clumsy. Promises were broken or brazenly reclassified. The ministerial departure lounge attracted frequent flee-ers. But its fat parliamentary majority meant the Howard government did not lack the appetite for transformation or a fight. Inheriting a fiscal mess, the new government's fixers appeared to relish the task of taking money away from universities, welfare recipients and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Taxpayers' assets were passed on for sale to merchant bankers, government debt was shredded, and a shareholder democracy was born. When...
...Australians' votes first - and then, in 1998, another chance to see parts of his program through - but Howard found it would not be so easy to win their affection or trust. After more than 25 years in politics, he had by habit found comfort in being right. It had garnered him respect. Being popular, however, was novel - and fleeting. By early 2001, he was back in familiar territory. With an election due before the end of the year, his government was losing altitude. Good Budget management had given Howard the populist means to target specific groups, such as retirees, farmers...
...many of the rules of class-based politics. Comrades now had share portfolios; union delegates were taking on debt. The latest struggle was taking place every Saturday in the nation's front yards to the rhythms of fervent auctioneers; in the distant, dusty bush, illegal immigrants were being detained. Howard's relatively narrow agenda of social cohesion, free enterprise and wealth accumulation was now a mass movement. And when the U.S. was attacked by terrorists and further calamity threatened, Howard became sterner and more somber - someone who would see the challenge through. His moment arrived. Instinctively...
...Sydney's business precinct, where offices are full at 7:30, morning or night, and it costs $40 to park for a few hours, Canberra has a small foothold. The Commonwealth's elected and appointed officials work out of a Phillip Street building that quietly echoes the Howard ethos: solid, functional, efficient. What you see on the outside is what you get inside. In the waiting room attached to the Prime Minister's Office, the lighting is subdued; the armchairs and art give no clue to era, fashion, or taste. Staffers speak in murmurs, and occasionally a telephone trills...
...John Howard is in a good place. Fit, busy, master of his own game. Ever watchful, in person he's cheerful, attentive and sincere. Blessed with a strong constitution, Howard has not lost his hunger. The political street-fighter who has dispatched Labor's Paul Keating, Kim Beazley (twice), Mark Latham and may yet face off next year against Beazley 2.0, cites one homely ingredient for success - never miss a meal. "It doesn't matter who you are," he says, "you've got time for lunch." The looming anniversary appears to have put the P.M. in a relaxed mood...