Voters bet on a chummy, charismatic new leader
Barely a month ago, Robert James Lee (Bob) Hawke, 53, was a fledgling parliamentarian with a mediocre record as his party's spokesman for industrial relations. Last weekend he was elected Prime Minister of Australia, leading to victory a listless, often divided Labor Party that has held power for just three of the past 34 years. Claiming about 74 seats in the 125-seat House of Representatives (an approximate swing of 22), Hawke and his Laborites ended the 7½-year reign of Incumbent Malcolm Fraser and his Liberal/ National Party coalition. Fraser, a three-time winner...
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