schwwwwiiiing

Well today is federal election day and by all accounts it does appear that the schwingers are out in force (where's Jon Snow and his swingometer when you need him) with swings from the coalition to Labor. I cannot say that I understand fully the electoral set up in Australia (their institution uses the English term - parliament - yet the two chambers use the American terms Senate and the House of Representatives. It is of interest as I am here in Australia as an economic migrant. Whilst the Howard government has overseen a strong economy driven by natural resources and linked to growth in the Chinese economy, it has come at some cost. Coupled with Australia being stricken by drought, causing crop failures and resulting in crop shortages, Howard's failure to be concerned about the environment - particularly ratifying Kyoto - may come back and haunt him. Howard's challenger is Kevin Rudd, a Queenslander who has run a campaign more about not purring a foot wrong than necessarily conveying his parties policies. One thing I will say for Rudd, as a Mandarin speaking ex-mandarin, if you'll excuse the pun, Rudd does strike me as more of a professional politician - if there is such a thing. Well not much else to say on this subject. We await the final outcome and see what flavour of government it provides us tomorrow.