TV Schedule

Australian PM makes a 'joke' about Bush and gets grief? Huh?

  1. woodywoodbeck
  2. related topics
Australia's prime minister came under fire at home Friday over a playful salute he gave President Bush at a NATO summit, which critics said seemed to suggest Australian subservience to Washington.

Australian television repeatedly broadcast videos of the gesture Thursday on the sidelines of the Bucharest summit and speculated about what it meant, while opposition lawmakers said it belittled Australia.

"We are not the 51st state of the United States of America and Mr. Rudd's salute carried a subservient connotation many Australians won't like," said Bob Brown, leader of the minor opposition Greens party.

The salute revived memories of Southeast Asian countries, including Malaysia, accusing Australia under former Prime Minister John Howard of being too close to Bush and too willing to adopt hawkish U.S. foreign policy.
woodywoodbeck

Add your response

Login/Registration is required to add a response.