australian prime minister could lose his seat

News from the land down under... After 33 years in the House of Representatives, Prime Minister John Howard is in danger of becoming Australia's first prime minister since 1929 to lose his seat: Australia's Howard Fights to Save Seat Amid Immigrants' Anger. In some past campaigns, he has argued for stronger immigration controls, especially for Asians. Now his Bennelong district is 41 percent Asian, compared with 2 percent when he was first elected back in 1974. He's apparently been able to win people over at the last minute in previous elections playing the race card or immigration card... but now he's looking at a situation where he has to attract both the Asian and working class vote. Funny. In his 1988 campaign, Howard called for reducing Asian immigration for the sake of "social cohesion." In the 2001 election, his campaign slogan was "we will decide who comes to this country and the circumstances in which they come." Looks like his past xenophobic rhetoric might be coming back to bite him in the ass...