Australia's main opposition party has accused the US of meddling in upcoming elections by criticising plans to withdraw troops from Iraq if it wins. Labor president Carmen Lawrence said she believed the Bush administration was trying to help conservative Prime Minister John Howard win the election.
Australian voters do not like being told how to conduct themselves by other governments, she added. President Bush has said an Australian withdrawal would be "disastrous". His comments earlier this month have been echoed by other White House officials, including Secretary of State Colin Powell.
"It's a bit unseemly for American senior officials to be telling an opposition in this country how to conduct its affairs and what its policies should be," she told Channel Nine Television. "Australians are a proud people and don't much like being told how to conduct themselves by other governments."
Opposition leader Mark Latham has vowed to pull the 800 troops from Iraq by Christmas if he wins. Mr Bush said such action, "would say that the Australian Government doesn't see the hope of a free and democratic society leading to a peaceful world."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3802247.stm