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John Howard, Australia's prime minister, is seeking a fourth term for his conservative coalition government. However, 43 of Australia's former defence and diplomatic chiefs have attacked him for what they described as his deception of the Australian people. Their charge, in a statement on August 8th, had to do with "false assumptions" behind Howard's commitment of Australian troops to the Iraq war--about 850 of them are still there. Howard's assertion last year that Australia had moved on from the Iraq war may turn out to have been wishful thinking. The murkiness surrounding Australia's involvement suggests the issue is likely to damage the government in the election campaign. The prime minister's credibility on Iraq and other issues has also brought pressure from a more unsettling front. John Valder, a former president of the conservative Liberal Party, which Howard leads, has launched a campaign to defeat Howard in his Sydney electorate of Bennelong. Valder is not standing himself, but is urging voters in the Liberal Party's heartland to support other Bennelong candidates.

The article reports that Kim Beazley, who led Labor from 1996 to 2001, was left as the only candidate for the job after two rival contenders, Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard, announced their withdrawal. Both conceded they had been unable to muster sufficient support among their parliamentary colleagues to challenge Beazley. Barring any unforeseen problems, the path was cleared for Beazley to resume the Labor leadership at one of the lowest points in the party's 114-year history. Labor is still reeling from the shock of its fourth successive defeat last October by the conservative coalition government led by John Howard. On January 18th, a second shock followed when Mark Latham, who had led Labor for only 13 months, resigned as leader and from parliament. A tough year lies ahead. In July, the government will take control for the first time of the Senate, giving it what Beazley called "a position of absolutely unprecedented power".

Focuses on Mark Latham, leader of Australia's opposition Labor Party, who resigned abruptly on January 18th. View that Labor seems as far from regaining power as at any time since losing to the conservative coalition, led by John Howard, almost nine years ago; Latham's silence following the Indian Ocean tsunami and his announcement he was quitting the leadership and his parliamentary seat of Werriwa in Sydney; Observations on Latham's leadership; Possibility that the Labor Party may turn once again to Kim Beazley, a deputy prime minister in the last Labor government.

The article focuses on Mark Latham, who led Australia's opposition Labor Party to its fourth successive election defeat. As Latham faced the task of rebuilding Labor, no fewer than six of his senior parliamentary colleagues announced that they were no longer prepared to serve in his shadow cabinet. Some senior people, such as the shadow finance minister, Bob McMullan, withdrew to the parliamentary backbench after bitter arguments with Latham over the election loss. As Latham tried to assemble a new shadow cabinet, Labor's power struggles between its left and right factions erupted, at one point almost stripping him of authority. Finally, as John Howard, leader of the conservative coalition government was being sworn in for his fourth term as prime minister, Latham announced his new team. Most attention focused on Wayne Swan and Stephen Smith, both from the right, who will handle the crucial issues of economic policy and industrial relations. Latham has indicated that he will start by trying to recapture Labor's credentials on economic policy.