Howard calls Australian election for November

PRIME MINISTER John Howard yesterday called general elections for November 24 that will decide who will shepherd Australia’s economic boom and whether the country will start pulling troops out of Iraq.

Mr Howard, who has been prime minister for the past 11 years, faces a tough battle to win a fifth term against Labour Party opposition leader Kevin Rudd, a Chinese-speaking former diplomat who for months has held a commanding lead over Howard in polls.

The country’s coal and mineral-driven economy continues to boom thanks to demand from China, India and elsewhere.