TIMESONLINE: Kevin Rudd, the Australian Prime Minister, won office by promising to be less slavish to American interests than his predecessor, John Howard. So it was hardly surprising that his decision to salute President Bush at a Nato get-together last night did not go down too well at home.
But Mr Rudd might not have been prepared for the barrage of criticism unleashed by a gesture which he insisted today was nothing but an impromptu joke.
Footage of the newly-elected Labour prime minister raising his hand to salute Mr Bush during a social gathering on the sidelines of the Nato summit in Bucharest has been broadcast repeatedly on Australian television, drawing accusations of subservience to the world superpower.
Brendan Nelson, the Opposition leader, described Mr Rudd’s behaviour as "conduct unbecoming of an Australian prime minister." Anger Down Under over Kevin Rudd’s Salute to Bush >>> By Hannah Strange | April 4, 2008
Mark Alexander
