CANBERRA—John Howard will return to Canberra this week for a gala dinner to celebrate his Government but there'll be no opportunity for a double act with the Liberals' man of the moment, Peter Costello.
More than 500 guests, including the former prime minister, are expected to attend the dinner on September 3 to celebrate the 11-and-a-half years of the Howard Government.
However, his two right hand men, former treasurer Peter Costello and former foreign minister Alexander Downer, won't be in Canberra for the function.
Mr Costello, who was feted at a thank-you dinner of his own on Friday, is heading to the United States, while Mr Downer, now the United Nations special envoy for Cyprus, will be at official peace talks, which begin on Wednesday.
Some Liberals are trying to encourage the former treasurer to stay in politics and return to the frontbench as current leader Brendan Nelson struggles to cut through with the electorate.
After the coalition was dumped at the federal election, Mr Costello ruled himself out of contention as leader and indicated he was exiting politics.
Nine months on, he's still on the backbench and hasn't indicated whether he still intends to leave parliament.
He is expected to make an announcement around the time he releases his memoirs on September 15.
On Friday night, Mr Costello pledged his absolute support for Dr Nelson, which suggests the only way he would make a return to the leadership was if Dr Nelson stepped aside and Mr Costello was drafted to the job.
Liberal frontbencher Tony Abbott, one of Mr Howard's staunchest allies, continued his campaign to encourage Mr Costello to stay around in politics.
"Plainly, Peter Costello is a very superior political talent," Mr Abbott told ABC Television today.
"I hope he doesn't leave the parliament and I hope he's available for higher duty."
Mr Abbott, who threw his hat into the ring for the leadership after the coalition's defeat last year, praised the job being done by Dr Nelson.
"I think Brendan Nelson is doing a terrific job under difficult circumstances.
"The questions marks that are now very much hanging over the Rudd Government are due in large measure to Brendan Nelson's tenacity and political savvy."
The Government continued to delight in the Liberal shenanigans, which has been overshadowing the coalition's efforts to put pressure on Labor.
Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard said she'd love an opportunity to remind voters of the policies for which Mr Costello was responsible, including high interest rates, high inflation and the Work Choices industrial relations regime.
"Should the Liberal Party determine that Mr Costello should become the leader, I'd relish the opportunity each and every day to remind the Australian public he's the architect of Work Choices," she told Network Ten.
"And I would relish the opportunity each and every day - and I'm sure (treasurer) Wayne Swan would relish it too - to remind people of the high inflation, high interest rate legacy he left this country when he left the office of treasurer last November."
