Last weekend, Australian Labor leader Kevin Rudd defeated staunch Bush ally Prime Minister John Howard, handing the conservative party its “worst election defeat in its 63-year history” and ending 12 years of conservative rule. Howard “suffered the additional ignominy of losing his own constituency seat,” the first time since 1929 that an Australian prime minister has been voted out of parliament.
Howard’s fate is similar to the story of many other Bush-friendly world leaders. After joining Bush’s Coalition of the Willing in 2003, several countries’ leaders have been ousted from office. In fact, of the original 49 countries who joined the Coalition, the AP reports that roughly 20 remain, with several in the process of withdrawing troops.
ThinkProgress has compiled a new report, highlighting the fate of world leaders from “coalition of the willing” countries who sent troops to support the invasion. Of 14 major partners in the Coalition, eight leaders were defeated in elections, two stepped down, two were term limited, and two remained in office. Click here to view the full report.
| COUNTRY | LEADER | ELECTORAL STATUS | Albania | PM Fatos Nano | Defeated, July 2005 |
| Australia | Pres. John Howard | Defeated, Nov. 2007 |
| Britain | PM Tony Blair | Stepped down, June 2007 |
| Denmark | PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen | In office (pledged withdrawal in Feb. 2007) |
| Dominican Republic | Pres. Hipolito Mejia | Defeated, May 2004 |
| El Salvador | Pres. Francisco Flores Perez | Term Limited, March 2004 |
| Hungary | PM Peter Medgyessy | Defeated, Aug. 2004 |
| Italy | PM Silvio Berlusconi | Defeated, April 2006 |
| Japan | PM Junichiro Koizumi | Stepped down, Sept. 2006 |
| Norway | PM Kjell Magne Bondevik | Defeated, Sept. 2005 |
| Poland | Pres. Aleksander Kwaśniewski | Term Limited, Dec. 2005 |
| Romania | PM Adrian Năstase | Defeated, Nov. 2004 |
| South Korea | Pres. Roh Moo-hyun | In office |
| Spain | PM Jose Maria Aznar | Defeated, March 2004 |
Australia, Britain, Italy, and Spain contributed tens of thousands of combat troops to the war. But as the war unfolded, each leader lost popularity at home and was eventually voted out of office. Their successors either have withdrawn — or are in the process of withdrawing — their nations’ troops from Iraq.
These leaders’ fates should also carry a clear message here at home — support Bush’s war and be voted out of office. View the compilation HERE.
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