Australia | The Australian Prime Minister accuses his predecessor of “contempt for democracy”: Scott Morrison is said to have secretly grabbed half a dozen ministerial portfolios

Australian the new prime minister Anthony Albanese has accused his predecessor Scott Morrison of “unprecedented contempt for democracy”, says the British broadcasting company BBC.

According to Albanese, Morrison, who stepped aside through the elections in May, had secretly grabbed the positions of five other ministers during his tenure as prime minister: the positions of health, finance, economy, interior and resources.

Already on Monday Albanese told that he was investigating recent allegations that Morrison had handled the duties of three different ministers in addition to his main work. On Tuesday, according to Albanese’s information, the number of enclosed briefcases had risen to five.

Read more: Former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison allegedly secretly headed three ministries in addition to serving as Prime Minister

Australian ABC channel tellsthat, for example, the Home Secretary of the Morrison government Karen Andrews said he was unaware that Morrison had also made himself another Home Secretary. Andrews thinks Morrison must resign from Parliament.

Morrison’s centre-right Liberal Party fell into opposition following May’s general election. The Labor Party led by Albanese came to power.

Morrison has published a long post on Facebook in which he says that he had relied on extraordinary arrangements due to the coronavirus pandemic. He admitted that “in retrospect these arrangements were unnecessary”.

Morrison said he acted with good intentions, but also apologized to his former ministerial colleagues who were offended by the matter.

On Monday, it was reported that Morrison’s health minister Greg Hunt agreed in 2020 to share his ministerial duties with Morrison in case he ended up incapacitated by the coronavirus infection.

For example, Morrison has been reported to have used his secret position as Minister of Resources to prevent the granting of a controversial gas exploration permit in December last year. The actual minister of resources Keith Pitt had not opposed the gas exploration permit, but Morrison thundered his ministerial colleague for electoral tactical reasons, British newspaper The Guardian reports.