On Saturday, Anthony Albanese’s Labor Party beat Scott Morrison’s ruling coalition in Australia’s 2022 federal elections (May 21). Morrison surrendered, leaving Labor in a strong position to reclaim power after nearly a decade of Conservative control and paving the way for Albanese to become Australia’s 31st Prime Minister.
The Liberal-National alliance did not win enough seats in the polls, and partial results released late Saturday evening (India time) revealed that voters in Western Australia, particularly in the affluent urban districts, punished them.
Labor’s ability to form a majority administration, or if it would have to form a coalition with independents and other parties, remained uncertain.
A party must win more than half of the 151 seats in the House of Representatives to create a majority government. According to The Guardian’s projections, Labor won 71 seats to the coalition’s 50. Seven seats were won by independent candidates.
Albanese, a Member of Parliament since 1996 and the son of a single mother who grew up in single housing, will reach the pinnacle of his career. Albanese, often known as “Albo,” served as Deputy Prime Minister in 2013.
Albanese has been the Leader of the Opposition since 2019, and has long been one of the most prominent voices of the party’s left wing. The Labor leader, on the other hand, had modified his left-wing image for this election cycle. According to the BBC, Albanese ran on a platform of modest policy suggestions, promising to enhance Australia’s aged care sector, manufacturing industry, childcare, and closing the gender wage gap.
Climate change was one of the most pressing issues among Australian voters this year, especially in light of the recent devastating wildfires and floods. Many people chastised Morrison for vacationing in Hawaii as flames raged throughout the country.
Polls regularly showed that voters wanted further carbon reductions. Despite promises to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 from both main political parties, both continue to promote the country’s mining industry, which is a major contributor to climate change.
Independent candidates that focused their campaigns on more ambitious climate change solutions performed well, according to the results. The “teal independents” were a group of primarily female candidates who ran in many of Australia’s wealthiest electorates against mostly male Liberal candidates.
Allegra Spender, a Teal independent, defeated incumbent Dave Sharma, a Liberal MP and former ambassador to Israel, to win the Wentworth seat.
Women’s votes were also crucial in selecting who constituted the government this year, with Morrison failing to connect with female voters. Gender was “certainly a role” in the election result, according to Liberal Senator Simon Birmingham, who told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, a tracking survey conducted by the Liberal-National Coalition found that the incumbent Morrison was unpopular with women. In February 2021, his government was embroiled in turmoil when many women accused lawmakers of rape and sexual misconduct. Thousands of Australians came to the streets to condemn female sexual assault and harassment.
The ads also emphasised the rising cost of living, with surveys indicating that rising gasoline and power prices were a major concern for voters. Inflation in Australia is at its highest level in two decades. The implications of economic inequality are becoming increasingly visible as the country’s wage growth stagnates.
India’s Foreign Secretary, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, stated on Saturday that “a meeting with the new Prime Minister is expected” during the Quad summit. “The strategic alliance between India and Australia enjoys bipartisan backing, and the discussion between the two presidents will be forward-looking and how to strengthen it further,” he added.
Albanese has had historic links with India, according to Australia’s High Commissioner to India, Barry O’Farrell. According to O’Farrell, the potential future Prime Minister visited India as a backpacker in 1991 and led a legislative trip to New Delhi in 2018.
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