Some just praise of Prime Minister John Howard from one of his old enemies

Comments by Graham Richardson

Howard's greatest strength is his capacity to know the electorate. I have always held the view that no matter how smart you think you are, the electorate is always smarter; the mob will always work you out. The best politicians know that when you have made a mistake, the best thing to do is admit the error and move on. There is not much to be gained from obfuscation and the verbal fudge. Australians know when you're talking nonsense.

What goes hand in hand with knowing that the voters can work you out is how you read them. John Howard reads them very well. He is in tune with a big majority of the mob. The over-55s love him because he talks like them. He has the same values. He harbours the same suspicions they harbour about newcomers and bludgers. Almost all those over 30 share his view that while education, health and transport are important, they come way behind the economy in the rankings of the issues that change votes.

The Australian preoccupation with home ownership is right up his alley. If he can keep interest rates at historically low levels, or be seen as the one most likely to achieve that imperative, Howard knows he is invincible. Add to that historically low inflation and unemployment and you take away any really strong reasons to vote against him. That is his greatest strength. He knows instinctively what really matters to those who decide his fate. That used to be Labor's strength, but it no longer applies. While Paul Keating talked about engaging with Asia, Howard talked about interest rates. When Keating passionately appealed for reconciliation with our indigenous people, Howard talked about interest rates. When Mark Latham obsessed about reading to our children and climbing ladders of opportunity, Howard doggedly continued with his economic themes.

Australians see economic policy as the core, and social policy as what can be afforded after the real work is done. Labor may believe it has the right policies, but the result suggests it has the politics all wrong ...

Last Christmas, I saw a television report on a function Howard held for the families of our soldiers on active duty in Iraq. Howard moved among the mums and dads, the wives and children with consummate ease. He was in his element; he loved them and they loved him right back. Such a change can occur only when the confidence level has risen dramatically. On the lawns of Kirribilli House, he was king ...

Labor can either continue to declare no confidence in the electorate or, like Howard, seek to understand it more accurately. I hope Labor chooses the latter course.

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