'Not happy, John!' campaign

The campaign did not promote any specific candidate; instead, it called for votes for any other candidate standing against Howard. The campaign focused on ousting the Prime Minister as a member of the House of Representatives, with motives and desired outcomes ranging between activists. Andrew Wilkie, then a former public servant and whistleblower, stood in the seat as the Greens candidate, increasing his party's vote share by 12.34% to 16.37%. On the other side of the political spectrum was John Valder, the former president of the Liberal Party and campaign leader, who wanted a Liberal government, only not led by Howard. Though the campaign centred around the seat the seat of John Howard, other activists contested other seats. Another influential figure in the movement was Brian Deegan a former magistrate, moved to activism by the loss of his son, Josh, in the 2002 Bali bombings. He stood against Alexander Downer, the then Foreign Minister, in his seat of Mayo, due to Deegan believing that the government was responsible for the attack. Downer in response said he had compassion for Deegan, and denied his claims of responsibility. and Nicole Campbell (Labor Party candidate). The campaign was launched on 22 June 2004 and continued until the election on 9 October. The campaign sold paraphernalia, including stickers, bumper stickers, T-shirts, and leaflets. == Result and legacy ==

The campaign was unsuccessful, in that Howard was returned as member, but had some success in that it reduced Howard's majority by 3% in the face of a 2% swing to Howard's Liberal Party, and he did lose the seat as sitting prime minister in the subsequent election. However, neither Valder nor Wilkie initially believed that Howard could be unseated. Howard did end up losing his seat, though the 'Not Happy, John' campaign was on a much less organised than the last: with Valder focusing his attention on the seat of Wentworth, endorsing Labor's George Newhouse. == References ==