SINGAPORE -- John Howard ensured his control over Australian politics for the next four years on Oct. 9 when he swept to an impressive fourth term as prime minister and his Liberal Party-led coalition increased its lead over Labour in both Houses. Howard's victory was attributed to the recent good performance of Australia's economy as well as to the strong security assurances he gave the Australian electorate.
In the same week, the results of the Indonesian presidential election were officially announced in Jakarta, with Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono claiming victory with 60.6 percent of the popular vote vs. 39.4 percent for the incumbent Megawati Sukarnoputri. Yudhoyono was inaugurated as Indonesia's sixth president Oct. 20.
The surprise in Jakarta was not so much Yudhoyono's triumph but rather the wide margin of victory. Given the formation of the Nationhood Coalition by Megawati and the powerful grass-roots machineries of major political parties such as Golkar and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), one would have expected a smaller gap between the candidates.