Fuel not the only political problem posed by Middle East war

But the test is also wider, extending, for example, to how it handles its relationship with the United States and its volatile president.The executive director of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, visiting Australia this week, warned, "the world is facing the greatest global energy security threat in history".The fuel crisis has raised issues for the government on multiple fronts, including over the level of Australia's fuel reserves, how effectively ministers can negotiate to secure more supplies, and what plans to put in place to deal with the increasingly difficult days ahead.The government has insisted Australia has enough supply, declaring the problems are soaring demand and distribution faults Mr Albanese has scheduled another national cabinet for Monday.Whether and when the fuel crisis deepens or eases depends on factors out of Australia's control — especially on what Donald Trump and Iran do from here on.The crisis has impacts on the May 12 budget, both negative (pushing growth and job gains down) and positive (more revenue from war-driven profit windfalls in LNG and coal exports). Given the cost-of-living crisis, it is also putting pressure on the government to make big policy decisions on fuel — notably, to lower fuel excise and impose a super profits tax to capitalise on increased gas exports.At first blush, both proposals appear attractive