Election Countdown

So the polls open in Australia in just a few hours. I voted nearly two weeks ago, and the rest of the country is finally catching up! One of my favourite bits of the campaign has been the cartoon strip appearing in Crikey under the title First Dog on the Moon. Today's cartoon is a classic, which is why I posted it here today.

To be honest, I feel kind of nervous about waiting for the result to come through. My overwhelming desire to see the removal of the Howard government means that the rumours of a late swing to the government give me flash backs to the Tampa election. Not that I am a big fan of the Labor party, but personally I would prefer to see them in government in Australia.

A lot of my election coverage has come from reading the Sydney Morning Herald, News Limited and Crikey, so I am not sure if I have an accurate reading of the situation in Australia. But I think the editorial in Crikey this morning summed up what is at stake:

"We see it like this:

A vote to return the Government is a vote for maximum risk. The risk of more-of-the-same policies when policy flourish is badly needed. The risk of a bitter leadership bunfight within a year or less as senior ministers attempt to get even with John Howard for inflicting on them the unnecessary pain of the past few months. The increasing risk of overweening moments from ministers like Abbott, Downer, Ruddock and Minchin (and Howard) on their last laps. And the risk of more hubris-infected decisions as the culture wars are fought to their denouement by an ideologically-driven government heading towards its 14th year under the same tired leadership.

A vote for Labor is a vote for least risk. Economic policy will be cautious, industrial relations policy will be benign, foreign policy will be prudent and social change will be incremental but interesting. This will be a pragmatic government setting out to establish the platform for 14 years in power, not the other way round. The biggest risk in electing a Rudd government is that they don't unveil some flair and foresight."

Happy voting! And don't forget to vote Green in the Senate!