It is extraordinary that Michael Howard, the Conservative leader, not only seems determined to draw the wrong conclusions from President Bush's re-election but is also ignoring the much closer parallels with his namesake John Howard in Australia. John Howard has pulled off a stunning victory for conservatism by grasping the core truth about his country -- that it is rotten with political correctness and moral collapse, and that the Australian mainstream is utterly fed up with it. Like the mainstream in Britain and the US, Middle Australia is worried sick about declining values, the threat to national security and the future of their children. Since Howard's win a month ago, senior ministers have already called for a debate on abortion, particularly the high number and the rising incidence of late term abortion; a national advisory council of anti-paternalistic aboriginal leaders has been established; and the federal minister for education has caused for a national inquiry into illiteracy in schools. As can be seen from Bernard Slattery's website, Australia's problems and preoccupations are startlingly similar to our own (see post below). John Howard won in the teeth of the same kind of vicious left-wing uproar as characterises British public debate, simply because he displayed tremendous courage and political genius. To his credit, Michael Howard has engaged a former John Howard adviser as part of his election team. But so far, he has shown a marked reluctance to understand the significance of the John Howard strategic vision and how it could play here too.