Fed: Howard will stay on as leader as long as party wants him to

AAP General News (Australia)
04-02-2006
Fed: Howard will stay on as leader as long as party wants him to

CANBERRA, April 2 AAP - Prime Minister John Howard has again refused to buy into speculation
about his retirement intentions, saying only he'll stay on as leader as long as his party
wants him to.

It comes as a new poll shows half of Australian voters want Mr Howard to continue as
leader into the next election.

The Ipsos Mackay poll conducted for the Ten Network's Meet the Press program also shows
only 24 per cent believe Mr Costello should lead the party into the next election, while
12 per cent back Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and eight per cent want Defence Minister
Brendan Nelson as leader.

But Mr Howard has brushed aside questions about his leadership.

"Same boring answer," he told the Ten Network.

"I'll stay leader as long as my party wants me to and it's in the party's best interests
that I do so."

Leadership speculation has been rife since an interview in Athens in April last year
when Mr Howard implied he could beat Opposition Leader Kim Beazley at the 2007 election.

Today, Mr Howard said: "Whoever the leader is, is ultimately a matter for the Australian
people to decide."

AAP mjp/sd

KEYWORD: LEADERSHIP HOWARD

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