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Howard's pragmatic reform agendaBy Grant Holloway YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSSYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- Shortly before he was first elected Prime Minister in 1996, John Howard outlined a vision of Australia where declared he wanted a nation where Australians would feel "relaxed and comfortable." As a political strategy, it was designed to reassure a shell-shocked electorate that Howard government would provide a calming contrast to the sometimes wrenching economic reforms of the Hawke-Keating Labor administrations. Australians certainly reacted positively, sweeping Howard to power with a comprehensive 5.1 percent swing against the Keating government. But if the voters thought reform was now off the agenda, they would be sorely mistaken. During the next 10 years of government Howard would: It is a testament to Howard's political skills and tenacity that he has managed to negotiate and sell these reforms and policies and still maintain sufficient popularity at the polls to win four consecutive terms. While some political commentators suggest Howard's reformist zeal is waning, the man himself is adamant he is working as hard as ever to drive changes he sees necessary to maintain Australia's prosperity. "The longer you are in high office the more committed you are to necessary reform and when you've done one thing you certainly feel the need to go on to the next," Howard said in a recent interview with The Bulletin magazine. "I do believe in this metaphor I use about participating in a foot race towards an ever receding finish line," he said. Howard's fourth term of government is the first in which his conservative coalition has held a majority in both the main lawmaking assembly -- the lower house or House of Representatives -- and the upper house, or Senate. While mindful to stress he will not abuse this increased power, Howard has been quick to push through a number of controversial pieces of legislation. Industrial relations reformThese include tough new anti-terrorism laws which civil right activists argue unnecessarily, and dangerously, curtail civil liberties in Australia. And the prime minister has finally had the opportunity to enforce serious changes in Australia's industrial relations laws, a key issue for the Howard who has pushed this agenda hard for many years, stemming back to his time as industrial relations spokesmen while in opposition. These laws will continue to diminish the once powerful role of the union movement in Australia's industrial affairs and give employers, especially small employers, more flexibility to hire and fire staff and dictate work conditions. Despite the potential for an electoral backlash from these changes, Howard sees the changes as crucial. "It is necessary to keep reforming the economy so it remains competitive," he says. All this seems a far cry from the "relaxed and comfortable" Australia that Howard aspired to over a decade ago. Certainly the majority of Australians do not feel that way, if a recent newspaper survey is an accurate indication. A Sydney Morning Herald commissioned poll, published February 20, found more than half of voters feel Australia has become a "meaner" place in the 10 years of Howard's tenure as minister. And while a further 40 percent felt Australia had become a "less fair" society under Howard's stewardship, paradoxically, six out of 10 approved of his performance as prime minister. This endorsement seems to be driven by the overwhelming support for Howard's management of the Australian economy, drawing admiration from both sides of the political spectrum. Howard's ongoing success makes his winning political formula look simpler to achieve than it is. As political commentator Paul Kelly noted late last year, Howard's strategy is "a complex mixture of pragmatism, ideology and utilitarianism." "The key to understanding Howard, lies in the way he constantly shifts his balancing point between preserving tradition and advancing reformist change. His judgment about this trade-off defines his political success." 
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