Word: whitlam
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After several days of Machiavellian intrigue and counter-intrigue, Australia's first Labor Party government in 23 years came to an abrupt end last week, less than halfway through its three-year term. Prune Minister Gough Whitlam had Parliament dissolved and called for new elections. Ironically, Whitlam brought on the crisis by a political maneuver intended to consolidate his strength, not to provoke a showdown with the opposition...
...countries rimming the area (India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Kenya and Singapore)-and U.S. congressional critics as well-fear that the base will increase big-power rivalries in the region. Last week Australia's Prime Minister Gough Whitlam joined the chorus of critics, saying that he would try to persuade Britain's Labor government to abrogate the agreement made by former Prime Minister Edward Heath. So far, Harold Wilson's new government has said only that the plan, like all foreign policy issues, was under "review...
...just not acceptable that a director of a major commonwealth enterprise should be on pillow-talk terms with the head of government," sniffed the Melbourne Herald, Australia's largest evening paper. Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, 57, had not been caught in flagrante delicto; rather his wife Margaret, 54, was being heckled about her latest job. A trained social worker, Margaret Whitlam is a director of the Commonwealth Hostels Ltd., an organization that administers government housing. "Drop it, Meg," was the Herald's blunt advice. But Mrs. Whitlam, whose liberal views on abortion, sex and marijuana have shocked Australians...
While Laborites have tried to put a good face on the defeat by saying that the vote cannot be construed as a popularity poll, they obviously are concerned by the extent of public disenchantment. Before the vote, Whitlam had been considering whether to dissolve Parliament in May when election for half the Senate is due in a bid to strengthen Labor's tenuous position (Labor controls the lower house, the opposition the Senate). Such a dissolution now obviously could mean his defeat and a premature end to Australia's socialist experiment...
...Whitlam knows he cannot avoid an election showdown indefinitely. He gave some indication of the line he may take when he confided to colleagues last week: "I won't be a lame-duck Prime Minister. Anyone in this job enjoys it, but there is no point in enjoying the prestige if one cannot deliver the goods." The prospect is that he will take his chances at the polls next year...