When i decided on my blog title to be "George Benlian on movies, books and few other things" i had various subjects in my mind mostly artistic and one being something completely different; the fascinating World of Politics.
As an Australian, the politics of my country does interest me on a certain level. I started working in 1996, the year John Howard became Australia's thirtieth and the second longest serving Prime Minister. The ABC Television produced a four parts documentary on "the inside story of the Howard Government" shown recently and already available on two discs dvd.
I always voted for John Howard although i don't consider myself as his fervent supporter. I guess i always preferred Liberal from Labour although the current prime minister is doing quiet a good job. Being elected four times is a monumental achievement. His biggest mistake however remains his hunger for a fifth term. You cannot be greedy even in politics.
Considered by many as "the ultimate political master", John Howard did over all a honest job. You can see how persistent and self confident he has been during his eleven years as Prime Minister. He made good and bad choices however he made all his choices with utmost conviction. My biggest deception came from his unwise decision in participating at the invasion of Irak. Watching this documentary gave me however couple hints of why he went that path. Let's remember he was in Washington on the 11th of September 2001 and saw the atrocities in his own eyes. A year later, the Bali bombing and the large number of Australian casualties prompted him to act against the Terror. However, the Irak war remains unjustified and although the "devil" is gone, there was no need of making Irak the world's most dangerous place and its habitats victim of few crazy people.
I met Howard once. It was a month before his defeat. He was campaigning everywhere and made a surprise visit at the Armenian festival in Darling Harbour. He visited few stalls including the one i was occupying with my colleague and began asking questions about the property market.
Absolutely recommended as this is a fascinating peek of how my country was governed from 1996 to 2007.
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