Minister dubs John Howard the Bradman of Australian politics

A senior minister of the Australian Government has described Prime Minister John Howard as the Don Bradman of Australian politics.

Sydney, Sept.13 : A senior minister of the Australian Government has described Prime Minister John Howard as the "Don Bradman" of Australian politics.

"If you've got a Don Bradman in the team and you're going on an Ashes tour to England you don't readily give up your Don Bradman," news.com.au quoted Workplace Relations Minister Joe Hockey as telling ABC Radio.

"We have a great battle ahead of us in the lead up to the next election," he added.

Opposition Greens Leader Bob Brown, however, described Howard as "the little man who was not there" - a character in a well-known poem.

Bradman is considered Australia's greatest cricketer, amassing a Test batting average 99.94.

Howard's cricketing prowess is, however, less established. Hockey's praise of Howard comes as the Liberal Party still deals with the fallout from a week of damaging leadership speculation and poor polling.

Former Liberal leader John Hewson said Howard was Australia's "cleverest politician".

"If circumstances change down the track and he still thinks he's the best person to lead the party, then I think he'll still be there," Dr Hewson said on ABC Radio.

"I think (Mr. Howard's) very focused on staying in politics and staying in politics as long as he can and being prime minister as long as he can," he added.

ANI