Australian Green Party helping to dislodge anti-Kyoto Prime Minister

If I were King of the World, I’m sure I’d set everything straight.  But I’m not, and neither are you.  But this news item shows how a non-majority Green Party in a non-superpower country can make an international difference in the response to a global crisis.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is on the verge of losing a key international ally in his criticisms of the Kyoto Protocol on the eve of major international climate-change talks.

Polls show Australian Prime Minister John Howard is likely to lose the Nov. 24 election to a pro-Kyoto Labor party dependent on support from Australia’s Green Party.  Any change in government would come just one week before a major international meeting in Bali, Indonesia, that would decide whether the Kyoto Protocol should be extended beyond 2012.

The Harper government regularly refers to Australia’s rejection of Kyoto to deflect opposition attacks over the Conservatives’ insistence that Canada’s targets can’t be met.