Australia's newly elected prime minister, Kevin Rudd, has prioritized signing the Kyoto Protocol, according to his deputy, Julia Gillard. Rudd's swift action to fulfill his campaign promise will allow Australia to have a more significant presence at an upcoming international conference on environmental issues in Bali, Indonesia. This decision puts the United States in a minority as the only Western country not to have ratified the pact, despite being the largest emitter of carbon dioxide globally. Australia, on the other hand, holds the title of worst polluter per capita. Rudd's proposal to gradually remove Australia's 550 combat troops from Iraq may strain the country's close relationship with the US. Despite receiving congratulatory messages from foreign leaders, Rudd spoke with US President George Bush and mentioned plans for a visit to Washington next year. On Monday, Rudd continued meetings with senior officials to prepare for taking control of the government following the recent elections. He is scheduled to meet with newly elected members of his Labor party on Thursday to select his ministerial team, which will be sworn in by the governor-general, Michael Jefferey, shortly after. The government is currently in a caretaker role. Rudd, who won the election and ended 12 years of conservative rule, has begun working on revising the country's labor laws as promised during the campaign. There is uncertainty about who will lead the coalition that lost the election, with John Howard expected to lose his seat in parliament and Peter Costello declining the nomination for prime minister. Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott have both announced they will compete for the position of opposition leader. The counting of ballots was still ongoing on Monday, with only the extent of Rudd's decisive victory to be officially confirmed and a few closely contested districts yet to be determined. One of these districts is Bennelong in Sydney, which has been held by Howard for the past 33 years. This leaves Australia's second-longest serving leader at risk of not only losing the government but also his own parliamentary seat. Howard conceded on Saturday that it is highly likely he will no longer represent Bennelong. Labor's Maxine McKew, a former television presenter, currently has a slight lead over Howard, and the final outcome is expected to depend on postal votes.