NAME: Arnold Schwarzenegger

AGE: 56

NATIONALITY: American

CLAIM TO FAME: Hollywood’s action star turns new California governor

JUST as his latest movie, Terminator 3, drew crowds and filled in the cash registers at cinema hall, Arnold Schwarzenegger had Californians pouring into polling booths to vote for him as their new governor on Tuesday last. The jut-jawed action hero scored a landslide victory over rivals and ousted Democrat, Governor Gray Davis despite vague economic plans and a hurricane of scandal that battered his campaign.

Schwarzenegger, a moderate Republican with tons of charisma but virtually no political experience, had surprised even his closest aides when he declared his candidacy on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno. Schwarzenegger is the second actor to be elected to the top job in California, home to much of the US entertainment industry, after former president Ronald Reagan in 1967. It was also the first time in 82 years that a sitting US governor has been stripped of power in a special recall vote.

As for Schwarzenegger, the Austrian farm boy traded on celebrity, sincerity and a strongman movie image to win control of America’s biggest and richest state. However, many feel that he has landed himself into a role that he is bound to find much tougher than any that he had had to do in his movie career. The politically novice Hollywood hero now faces the colossal challenge of jump-starting California’s flagging economy.

Republican Schwarzenegger must also work with Democrats, who are a majority of both houses in the Legislature and hold all statewide offices except his newly-won governorship. When questioned over the seemingly tough task of working with the Democrats, he dismissed any difficulty he might face, saying he he’s married to one; Maria Shriver, niece of assassinated Democrat President John F. Kennedy.

In practice, it’s likely to be a thornier issue. However, for President Bush it is going to be a boost as with the presidential elections so near, a fellow Republican will rule America’s most populous state.

The governor-elect had painted himself as an honest outsider ready to sweep out official corruption and inefficiency. However, his campaigning was marred by potentially damaging last minute allegations that he sexually harassed at least 16 women over his 30-year film career. Of course Conan the Barbarian was fast to apologize for having “behaved badly” to women, but denied the specifics of the allegations.

Though Schwarzenegger’s movie schedule had not been a very busy one in recent years, as aging action heroes don’t find many suitable roles to play, he is still among the top league of stars in Hollywood. How he plans to juggle his political and acting jobs remains to be seen. But in America and Hollywood, anything is possible — particularly the impossible.