Australia’s opposition Labor party has won the country’s parliamentary elections. Center-left Anthony Albanian will become the new prime minister. He takes over from the conservative Scott Morrison, who has been Prime Minister of Australia since 2018. It is the first time in nearly ten years that the country will have a Labor government again.
The current prime minister already admitted his defeat after it was clear from the first results forecast that he was not going to win. “I spoke tonight with the opposition leader and future prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and congratulated him on his election victory,” Morrison said. Although not all votes have been counted yet, it is likely that his opponent can form a government. Morrison also announced his resignation as leader of Australia’s Liberal Party.
Albanian says in a first reaction that it wants to reunite the country. “I think people want to come together, look for our common interest, look for that sense of common purpose. I think people have had enough of division, what they want is to come together as a nation and I intend to lead that.”
greener
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has congratulated Albanian on his victory. He promised to work together on trade and to make the world ‘greener’. “Our countries have a long history and a bright future together,” Johnson said.
It is not yet clear whether the social-democratic Labur party will also gain a majority in parliament. If not, the party must form a minority government.
With nearly 60 percent of the vote counted, Labur is on about 72 seats. 76 seats are needed for a majority in parliament. Both Labur and Morrison’s conservative party appear to be losing seats to smaller parties, such as the environmentally conscious Australian Greens party. Morrison’s party currently has 55 seats. However, there are still at least 13 seats to be allocated and shifts can still take place.
Criticism
Morrison’s conservative government was already lagging behind Labor in opinion polls. There has been a lot of criticism of the prime minister in recent times. Under his leadership, the country opted for strict lockdowns to curb the spread of the coronavirus, which has left populations in cities such as Melbourne and Sydney locked up for weeks. That led to many demonstrations. His climate approach and the way in which his government responded to floods this year also received criticism.
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