In his whatever-the-cost determination to deliver on his pre-election promises, the Prime

Minister's ''me-tooism'' of the Howard Government's policies just about guarantees more inflationary pressure and thus interest rate hikes.

He may become one of the few pollies to deliver what he promised. But maybe he should reconsider. The Labor PM will only have himself to blame if the mortgage stress of

home owners, caught up in the continual interest rates increases, forces those aspirational voters to turn on him at the next election.

Barely a week after Rudd was back from holidays, the TV news featured a young, distraught mother railing about interest-rate pain and blaming Rudd for her family's problems.

Fair crack of the whip.

The long cycle of interest rates rises is the legacy of those great economic managers, Howard and Costello, who bought successive elections by excessive largesse with our tax dollars and the mining windfall. They ignored 20 warning calls from the Reserve Bank to cool down spending.

Foolishly, Rudd has decided to stay with his tax-break promise of $31.5 billion. Not only will it stoke inflationary fires, it will quickly be absorbed by rising food, interest and petrol prices.

Rudd and his Razor Gang mates are now using sniffer dogs to ferret out departmental boltholes where loose cash might be stored.

So far they're tracked down and chopped $643 million in Liberal election pledges for such wonders as the Fishing Hall of Fame and the

Australian National Rugby Academy.

Scandalously, in my view, they found $114.3 million unspent in the drought package. Why wasn't it spent, with the worst drought in 100 years only (more or less) just over? Waiting another century, perhaps?

Now Rudd's tying himself in knots

trying to cut costs and keep inflation and interest rates from rising even further, with more pain for taxpayers.

You wonder ometimes if awful promises are best not kept. You have to give it to him, though. In his gyrations to keep his word,

Kevin Rudd has cleverly but unwittingly wedged himself.