Bush calls Rudd after election win

WASHINGTON: President George W Bush called Australian Labour Party leader Kevin Rudd late on Saturday after his resounding election win and looks forward to working with the successor of Prime Minister John Howard, a veteran US ally, a spokesman said.
    
"The president and prime minister-elect Rudd both said they look forward to working together to strengthen even further the US-Australia relationship," Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National Security Council said.
    
Bush also called Howard, a staunch backer of the US war in Iraq, to tell him that he appreciated 'his friendship and his strong leadership' over the past seven yeas, Johndroe said.
    
Howard's 11-year rule ended on Saturday by a landslide victory by Rudd's Labour Party, which is expected to claim as many as 86 of the parliament's 150 seats. Labour is set to control the central government and all eight state and territory administrations.
    
Rudd had attracted criticism from Bush for promising to pull Australian combat troops out of Iraq, where they backed the US-led forces, but in a speech yesterday he held out an olive branch to Washington's increasingly isolated conservative administration.
    
He moved to allay fears that he may seek to step back from Canberra's close ties with Washington and stressed that he still regarded the United States as a friend.
    
"I extend our greetings tonight to our great friend and ally the United States," he said.