When the Australian Labor Party came to power in November 1972, it was following almost a quarter of a century of Liberal government, whose policies were becoming increasingly outdated in comparison to the forward thinking promises of ALP leader, Gough Whitlam. The following three years were a program of social reform, though the leadership period suffered under the effects of a world economy turned sour and through a perceived mismanagement of the Australian finances. Combined with scandals, high inflation, unemployment and a general lack of confidence in a leader that had lead them into one of the worst economic slumps, the Australian public decided that though policies of social reform had been important and significant, their own individual financial well-being would always eclipse this. Though not an altogether despised leader, by the end of his functional term Whitlam was seen as an idealist, when the country required in that period of economic uncertainty was a realist able to pull the country out of near recession.…
