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| Australian PM 'to call election' | Australian PM 'to call election' |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Australian Prime Minister John Howard has visited the governor-general amid mounting speculation he is about to call a parliamentary election. | Australian Prime Minister John Howard has visited the governor-general amid mounting speculation he is about to call a parliamentary election. |
| Mr Howard has visited Michael Jeffery, the representative of head of state Queen Elizabeth, in Canberra as a formality before an announcement. | |
| Correspondents expect him to call a poll for 24 November or 1 December as he goes for a fifth term in office. | |
| Analysts predict a heavy defeat for the veteran PM after 11 years in office. | |
| Mr Howard, 68, is trailing his Labor opponent, Kevin Rudd, in opinion polls. | |
| Chinese-speaking former diplomat Mr Rudd, 50, has promised sweeping reforms to health, education and controversial labour laws introduced by the PM. | |
| Younger voters are said to be angry with Mr Howard for introducing legislation that makes it easier to hire and fire workers. | |
| Mr Howard will point to the enduring strength of the economy. | |
| The elections will also decide whether Australia starts bringing home its troops from Iraq, correspondents say. |