Howard will stay put

2003-06-03 08:41

Sydney - Prime Minister John Howard announced on Tuesday that he will stay on as Australian leader beyond his 64th birthday in July, ending speculation about his imminent retirement.

Howard, whose conservative Liberal-National coalition government has been in office since 1996, said in a brief statement that he had given a lot of thought to his future and had decided to stay in the job.

"The Liberal Party has been very loyal and generous to me," said Howard, whom polls show enjoys strong popular support in the electorate.

He said he would always put the party first, adding: "While ever it remains in the party's best interests and my colleagues want me to, I'd be honoured to continue as leader."

He said last year and on numerous occasions since that he would review his position and announce any decision to retire at his 64th birthday on July 26, raising speculation that he intended to hand over to his obvious heir-apparent, Treasurer Peter Costello.

The speculation intensified recently as Howard came under strong pressure from his own backbench to remain at the helm to maximise the coalition's prospects at the election due late next year against a dejected Labour opposition beset with leadership squabbling.

Reports on Tuesday suggest a lacklustre opposition leader Simon Crean will face a leadership challenge within weeks from former opposition leader Kim Beazley, who retired to the backbench after leading Labor to a second defeat in November, 2001.

A poll published on Tuesday by The Australian newspaper showed support for the government has slipped during the past two weeks over the resignation of Governor-General Peter Hollingworth, who was Howard's personal choice as the queen's Australian representative.

But it still has a winning 51-49% edge over Labour, while Howard enjoys a record 48 percentage point lead over Crean as preferred prime minister.

Howard virtually defied the bad publicity over Hollingworth, with a satisfaction rating of 60% compared to 61% two weeks earlier.

But on the question of who would make the better prime minister, Howard's standing rose one point to 65%, while Crean's remained at 17%.

Hollingworth resigned last week after a long-running controversy over his handling of child sex abuse while he was the Anglican archbishop of Brisbane. - Sapa-AFP

- SAPA