The Australian Labor Party, led by the current Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, has won this Saturday, with an absolute majority, while the conservative opposition has suffered a strong varapalo in elections marked by the future relationship with the US administration of Donald Trump.
“The Australians have chosen a majority labor government,” said Euphoric and excited Albanese in his triumphant speech from Marrickville, on the periphery of Sydney, one of the fiefs of his party, when the scrutiny did not reach 50%.
With 66% of the accounted vote, the Labor Party has already secured 83 seats (seven more than necessary for the absolute majority), while the liberal-national conservative coalition adds 23 of a camera of representatives of 150 deputies. The leader of the conservative coalition, the veteran politician Peter Dutton, has lost his seat in Dickson’s constituency, in the state of Queensland, which he occupied since 2001.
The resounding victory of the Labor was not predicted by the polls, which at the end of March gave a draw with the conservatives and in recent weeks they gave a majority to the Albanese party but far from the absolute.
Albanese, 62, has been the first Labor leader to be re -elected in Australia (26 million inhabitants) since 2004. The president promised during the electoral campaign a reduction in the price of electricity, a decrease in taxes and measures to facilitate the access of young people to the house. Another factors that dominated the campaign and the last months of his government was the commercial war unleashed by Trump.
Negotiating mood
The prime minister, with a recognized negotiating mood, promised to travel to the United States as the first foreign destination if he managed to retain power, with the objective of unlike Dutton, the Labor leader harshly criticized “the inamistous measures” of Trump, although he assured that he would not take reprisals to avoid a greater impact on the quality of life of the Australians.
Trump’s elongated shadow has always been present in Dutton’s electoral campaign. The opponent’s strategy, with numerous winks that emulated the policies of the US president, allowed him to lead the surveys until the end of 2024. But the unpredictable tariff policy of Washington after Trump’s arrival at the White House and some “errors” recognized during the last weeks have weighed the possibilities of the conservative leader.
Liberal spokesman, Senator James Paterson, has defended the conservative coalition campaign and has assured that it has been seriously affected by “the Trump factor”. “It was devastating for conservatives, and it is evident that it has been decisive here,” Paterson said to public television.
has congratulated Albanese this Saturday for the electoral result and has claimed that Washington is confident in strengthening ties with the southern country. “The United States hopes to deepen its relationship with Australia to advance our common interests and promote freedom and stability in the Indo-Pacific and worldwide,” said Rubio in a statement.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, also congratulated the Labor Party and the Australian Prime Minister, while calling to “deepen” in bilateral relations. “Congratulations to Anthony Albanese and his party for his victory in the Australian federal elections. Europeans and Australians are not only friends: we are colleagues,”.
Von der Leyen has also taken the opportunity to launch a message in favor of free trade between Australia and the EU: “Let’s take advantage of this moment of stability to deepen our cooperation. Together, we can expand trade, investment and work to promote our shared democratic values and a free and open Indo-Pacific.” The Free Trade Agreement between the two partners due to the controversy around the denominations of origin of some products and the entry of Australian agricultural goods to the European market.
