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Australian Prime Minister John Howard signaled yesterday he may seek a fifth term and lead his conservative government to the next election due in 2007, despite pressure from his ambitious treasurer to step down.

 

"There are still a lot of things I want to do. I find that I am still very committed to this job and I still get stimulated by it," Howard told Australian radio.

 

The 10-year-old government was thrown into a leadership row this week when Treasurer Peter Costello, long considered Howard's heir apparent, contradicted the prime minister over the existence of a secret 1994 succession deal. Howard denies a deal.

 

The pair met on Tuesday and Costello, 48, told Australia's second-longest serving prime minister that he wanted a smooth transition when Howard decides to step aside.

 

Howard turns 67 later this month and Australian media yesterday speculated he would make an announcement about his future within weeks, possibly when parliament resumes in August.

 

Publicly, Howard says he will stay as leader of the Liberal Party -- the majority partner in the Liberal/National coalition government -- for as long as his party wants him to.

 

"The sense I have is the overwhelming bulk of my colleagues want two things they want me to stay in my current position and they want Peter to stay in his current position," he said.

 

"I'm not going to be pressured or stampeded into taking some decision or making some immediate announcement just because of the events of the past few days," he said, adding that if he were to "go under a bus," Costello would be his likely replacement.

 

Howard and Costello have dominated Australian politics since Howard in 1996 won the first of four successive election victories over a fragmented center-left Labor opposition.

 

(China Daily July 14, 2006)