Ted Stevens, who is the longest-serving Republican in Senate history, is running for re-election this fall. He is charged with seven counts of failing to list on his Senate disclosure forms goods and services provided by long-time associate Bill Allen that were used to refurbish the Stevenses’ family home. The trial has been accelerated at Mr. Stevens’ request, in hopes of obtaining a verdict before Election Day.

The candidates echoed each other in assessing the threat from the financial crisis as severe enough to warrant government intervention. But Senator John McCain said that he would press on with his plan to extend the Bush tax cuts and to cut others. Contrary to the warnings of fiscal analysts, he said he could still balance the federal budget, which was falling deeper into deficit even before the financial crisis, by the end of his first term.

“Congress will respond to the financial markets crisis by taking action this week in a bipartisan manner that will protect the taxpayers’ interests,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. She added that the administration’s proposal did “not include the necessary safeguards. Democrats believe a responsible solution should include independent oversight, protections for homeowners and constraints on excessive executive compensation.”

Whether Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, can help Zimbabwe escape the yoke of Robert Mugabe’s rule is not yet clear. The two bitter rivals have signed a power-sharing deal, a complicated arrangement that leaves Mr Mugabe as President and makes Mr Tsvangirai Prime Minister. The army stays under Mr Mugabe’s control, while Mr Tsvangirai apparently has the job of fixing the devastated economy.

The Liberal leadership saga has overshadowed growing unrest within the Government over industrial relations, which the Prime Minister will again avoid this week. Some backbenchers fear Julia Gillard’s proposed industrial relations legislation is too similar to Work Choices. Last Tuesday, while Brendan Nelson was being dumped, New South Wales senator Steve Hutchins was telling a restive Labor caucus that the legislation was “Work Choices lite”.

Republican candidate John McCain faces the daunting task of trying to square his long history of advocating corporate and financial deregulation - the sort of loose controls many blame for the turmoil on Wall Street. Senator McCain now says more controls are needed to prevent a repeat of the turmoil that sent the stock market plunging, as he tries to recover from a damaging series of gaffes regarding the unfolding crisis.

The big losers in Malcolm Turnbull’s shadow cabinet reshuffle are Nelson backers Nick Minchin, dumped from defence to communications, and Tony Smith, who has been dumped from education to the assistant treasury role, although at least it is an economic portfolio. Arguably Tony Abbott, who wanted to move from the welfare portfolio, and Andrew Robb, who wanted treasury and got infrastructure, haven’t done terribly well either.

Former Labor Opposition Leader Kim Beazley’s argument was that the pace of reform under Kevin Rudd had been slowed by the constipation of process. His speech was about the centralised control being exercised by a self-confessed anal prime minister. Beazley’s point of departure was the administrative style of Bob Hawke versus that of Kevin 24/7. And it was the Duracell Bunny that came off worse.

The Prime Minister today defended the trip as in the national interest, and received some unlikely support today from Independent Senator Nick Xenophon, who said now was the time to talk to world leaders in the wake of the global financial crisis. But Liberal frontbencher Eric Abetz said this morning: “Kevin747 seems to be a very good little tagline for him. It’s, unfortunately, indicative of what he’s been doing in recent times.”

Although the primary vote did not change outside the margin of error of the latest Newspoll survey, taken on the weekend, the Coalition did register its best performance since the election with a primary vote of 38 per cent, up one point, compared with Labor’s 42 per cent, down two points. The two-party-preferred support was back to the levels of mid-July, with the Coalition on 45 per cent and Labor on 55.