Everything's changed?

The author shared his insights about Australia Prime Minister John Howard's government. His comment is not to make fun of the sophisticates who are dancing on Howard's political grave, but to suggest that Australia will remain, for the most part, a pretty conservative place in the post-Howard era. And that those who take it upon themselves to represent the country's conscience will probably still spend much of their time agonizing over what left-wing British newspapers think about them, and convincing themselves that they are an international pariah. Whereas once conservative ideas were swept aside as being outside the boundaries of serious consideration, today they represent the political and cultural mainstream. On the great battlefields of history economics, citizenship, reconciliation, national sovereignty and values generally, conservative ideas and those of classical liberalism increasingly prevail. Still, Howard's legacy has been fashioned by the extent to which he has transformed the political and cultural landscape.