On Saturday Australia will go to the polls. Prime minister Kevin Rudd – recently returned to office in place of the deposed Julia Gillard – has called an election that promises to set an important course for the country in the period ahead. Facing off against Mr Rudd and the Labor party is the Liberal-National Coalition led by Tony Abbott.

This is a contest that bears close scrutiny because Australia’s importance and stature has risen in Asia and the world in the past two decades. The country has proved to be one of the most effective in terms of balancing its strong political and security ties with the US with its robust commercial and economic interactions with China.

The election has been hard-fought – the bitterness between the two parties is evident – but the US will do well with either party in power. Still, a closer look at the respective leaders is in order.