Sydney - The Labor Party's Kevin Rudd became Australia's prime minister Saturday after a crushing victory over John Howard's Liberal-led coalition in a general election. "I'll be a prime minister for all Australians," Rudd said after gaining a thumping majority of at least 24 seats in the 150-member Parliament.
The Labor landslide dislodged Australia's second-longest-serving prime minister from office and most likely from parliament as well.
Howard, 68, said it was "very likely" he would lose the Sydney seat of Bennelong he has held for 33 years and become the first prime minister since Stanley Bruce in 1929 to do so.
Labor's Maxine McKew stopped just short of claiming victory in Bennelong but analysts saw his eviction as a certainty.
"John Howard, no matter what people think of him, he'll go down as one of the greatest prime ministers we ever had," coalition member of parliament Barnaby Joyce said.
Howard's achievements over 11 years are manifest in one of the rich world's fastest-growing economies. Unemployment is at a 33-year low, the last time strikes were less frequent was 1913, and the government is free from debt.
On the other side of the ledger is Howard's decision to commit troops to Iraq and six interest rate rises since his fourth election victory in 2004.
Rudd, 50, capitalized on disenchantment with Howard by offering almost identical policies in shiny new packaging. He has pledged not to emulate past Labor governments and run up debt.
Rudd would retain the military alliance with the US and hope to continue Howard's good relations with China, Japan and Indonesia.
Unlike Howard, the mop-topped Mandarin-speaker is eager to sign the Kyoto Protocol on climate change and join European countries in committing to reducing emissions by 60 per cent by 2050. While keeping soldiers in Afghanistan, he would bow to the popular will and pull Australia's 580 combat troops out of Iraq.
Howard's defeat means that for the first time in Australia's history Labor is in government at state and federal level across Australia.
"I have led a government that has taken this country from deep debt to strong prosperity," Howard said when conceding defeat. "I have led a government that has never shirked the difficult decisions. I have led a government that has reformed the Australian economy and left it the envy of the world."
Rudd, a nerdy former diplomat who only came to the Labor leadership in December, stressed his conservatism. He promised to keep illegal immigrants out and keep close to the US.
"I extend our greetings tonight to our great friend and ally the United States, to our great friends and partners across Asia and the Pacific," Rudd said. "To our great friends and partners in Europe and beyond, we look forward to a working partnership with all those nations."
