Schwarzenegger says Democratic win is healthy

MEXICO CITY, Nov 10 (Reuters) California Gov Arnold Schwarzenegger, one of few Republicans to shine at the mid-term elections, said the Democratic victories were healthy for US politics.

''I think it is good that there are new ideas and new blood because Washington was stuck. They could not move forward, not much was accomplished; I think it was terrible,'' he told reporters on a trip to Mexico yesterday.

Former bodybuilder and star of the ''Terminator'' action movies, Schwarzenegger won re-election by a landside on Tuesday after distancing himself from President George W Bush and adopting moderate positions on some issues.

At the same time, Democrats took a majority of seats in the House of Representatives and the Senate, which would give the party control of both houses of Congress for the first time in 12 years.

Schwarzenegger said fellow Republicans could now learn from his change of tack and work with Democrats.

''If anyone in Washington or anyone from other states looks at that, hopefully they got the message also,'' he said.

Schwarzenegger, 59, boosted his popularity in a state with a majority of Democratic voters by scrapping a confrontational style that led to a complete defeat in a special initiative election last year and by turning on his charm.

He also backed a series of bipartisan laws, including one aimed at cutting the state's greenhouse gas emissions.

The governor remains a controversial figure in Mexico, however, after vetoing a bill in 2005 that would have allowed illegal immigrants to obtain California state drivers' licenses.

Hecklers briefly interrupted a speech Schwarzenegger was delivering to the American Chamber of Commerce. Several shouted opposition to governor and Bush before they were removed.

Speaking in English and Spanish, they identified themselves as supporters of political extremist Lyndon LaRouche.

Earlier, Schwarzenegger had breakfast with Mexican President Vicente Fox to talk about trade and immigration.

The governor said a US plan to build 700 miles (1,126 km) of fencing on the Mexican border to stem illegal immigration was only a partial solution.

He called for a guest worker program for mostly Mexican immigrants, a plan supported by Bush.

''What you need to do as you think about securing the border, you have to simultaneously pass a law that says we can legally hire people from outside,'' Schwarzenegger said.

REUTERS DH BST0520