Australian leader goes after Tea Party

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CANBERRA, Australia, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan, in an interview broadcast Friday, said "cranks" and "crazies" in the U.S. Republican Party threaten the world economy.

Swan, who also serves as deputy prime minister and deputy leader of the Labor Party, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that the opposition in Australia is using "Tea Party" tactics.

"Let's be blunt and acknowledge the biggest threat to the world's biggest economy are the cranks and crazies and that have taken over a part of the Republican Party," Swan said, saying they would be willing to let countries go into default.

Tony Abbott, the opposition leader, responded by suggesting it is "cranks and crazies" in the governing Labor Party who are in charge in Australia. Swan responded by saying that leaders like Abbott "trash our economy and use the tactics of the Tea Party in the U.S. for political advantage."

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard backed her deputy. She said what happens in the United States affects the global economy and thus Australia's economy.

"Wayne Swan was making that very common sense point today," she said.