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Simeon Mitropolitski is a Canadian analyst, of Bulgarian origin, and a former syndicated columnist with the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA). He is the author of several hundred articles dealing with hot political and economic topics, both national and international.

He was part of the first group of Bulgarian intellectuals and students that began the opposition movement that finally put an end to the communist regime in this country in 1989, and in 1996-1997 participated in international observation teams during the elections in several Balkan countries - Romania, Albania and Bulgaria.

In 2002 Simeon and his family moved from Bulgaria to Canada where they live now in Montreal, province of Quebec. Simeon is a Master of Political Science from McGill University and a B.A. of Political Science and History.

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Australia will have a new government, Labor government. Based on the election campaign debates, foreign observer would assume that at stake were many important issues; that a political change would mean significant changes in many areas: economic, social, and environmental. The change that will come, however, will be much less radical than predicted. The economy and the big finances will be spared from radical policies. The social policy will target more families with children than unemployed. The new environmental agenda will hardly produce any tangible outcome during not only the next mandate, but also during the next couple of mandates. On the other hand, market forces stronger than the capacity of the local government, will dictate the necessity of financial conservatism. Australia will embrace the 'third' way without renouncing the main pillars of the former liberal/national government.

By all means, the new Australian government will symbolize the rupture with the past more in words than in deeds. Highly sensitive issues such as Kyoto protocol hide the fact that the new Labor government won't make radical changes in almost any area, and when the changes seem radical, they won't take immediate effect. The best way to illustrate this new policy is to go over the rule of the New Labor in Britain under Tony Blair between 1997 and 2007. In the world of social symbolism, his rule was a rupture with the 18-yearlong reign of the conservatives, a period also known as the 'Thatcherism'. Blair didn't change the large macro-economic policy of his predecessors; he indeed did introduce or did modify many new social programs, but in fact, in general, his policy was to make sweeter the bitter medication that was administered since the late 1970s. At the end, according to his Labor critiques, his rupture was more abrupt with the classical left policy than with the right policy. Thus far for Britain and back to Australia.

What the 'new' Australian Labor may deliver? Certainly a lot of leftist or leftist-leaning rhetoric; it can also introduce or sweeten many social programs, especially those targeting working families with children. It's a fact that many modern social-democratic governments now transfer national income not between the rich and the poor, but between those without and those with children. Australia like many other advanced societies faces demographic problems; one way of resolving these problems, but surely not the most effective, is to increase the immigration numbers. In a world where newcomers may bring not only economic expertise but also all sorts of dangers, however, the policy of more immigrants isn't always the best solution. This makes investment in children a top priority for many nations, and Australia won't be an exception.

What the 'new' Labor won't deliver? For sure, there will be no changes in the conservative financial policy that targets primarily inflation. There will be no radical change in the industrial policy that makes Australia a desired trade partner for newly industrializing nations of Asia. Those, who see the new government as a short-term danger for the powerful industrial lobby, will be disappointed. Australia will advance toward Kyoto targets, but this won't be done in an abrupt manner; and in no way any government, especially a Labor government, will risk economic recession in the name of the global environmental solidarity. Those with leftist dreams will be given another lesson of political pragmatism.

Australia country profile:

• Area: 7,686,850 sq km
• Population: 20.4 million (July 2007 est.)
• Population growth rate: 0.83% (2007 est.)
• Net migration rate: 3.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
• Life expectancy at birth: 80.62 years
• Total fertility rate: 1.76 children born/woman (2007 est.)
• GDP per capita: purchasing power parity $33,300 (2006 est.)
• Main trading partners: Japan, China, and the United States.
• Internet users: 15.2 million (2006)

(Source: CIA World Factbook 2007, Reuters)

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See also the directory of companies providing real estate services in, and general real estate information of Australia.