AUSTRALIA OUSTS CONSERVATIVES

Anthony Albanese Is All Set To Become The Australian Prime Minister

     Anthony Albanese is all set to become the Australian 31st Prime Minister after his Labor party toppled the Conservative government led by Scott Morrison, after almost a decade in power, in the general elections held over the weekend by winning at least 72 seats in the 151-seat parliament, compared with 55 for Morrison’s Liberal-National Coalition according to The Australian Broadcasting Corporation. In results so far, Labor had yet to reach 76 of the 151 lower house seats required to form a government alone. Final results could take time as counting of a record number of postal votes is completed. The Labor leader is a multicultural representative, claiming to be the first candidate with a "non-Anglo Celtic name" to run for prime minister in Australia's 121-year history. Albanese, one of Australia's longest-serving politicians, led his Labor Party to its first election victory since 2013.

    Albanese has had a humble start to life as the only child of a single mother who raised him on a pension in a public housing estate, nicknamed ‘Albo’, he was born in 1963. he was the first person in his family to finish school, let alone university. Albanese studied economics at university while nursing a life-long ambition to be the prime minister. He got involved in student politics and aged 22, he was elected president of Young Labor, the party's youth wing. It was in 1996 that he was elected to the Federal Parliament as the representative of Grayndler, the area he grew up in. Since then, Albanese has spent much of his 26 years in politics in the opposition and only six in government. Early in 2021, Albanese survived a car crash. He later told the media that the near-death experience changed his life. He overcame his injuries, shed a lot of weight and polished his image to position himself as a serious contender in the race for the top job.

    The Leader of Opposition since 2019, Albanese has for long been one the most prominent voices of the party’s left faction. However, for this election cycle, the Labor leader had softened his left-wing image. Albanese had based his campaign on modest policy proposals according to the BBC, and promised to improve Australia’s aged care sector, improve its manufacturing industry, provide cheaper childcare, and lessen the gender wage gap. Climate change was one of most important concerns for Australians voters this election, especially after the catastrophic wildfires and floods recently. During the wildfires, Morrison was criticized by many for holidaying in Hawaii while fires ravaged the country. The women’s vote also played an important role in determining who formed the government this year, with Morrison failing to connect with women. The campaigns also focussed heavily on the growing cost of living, with polls suggesting that the rising price of fuel and electricity was a key issue for voters. Australia is experiencing its highest inflation rate in two decades. With stagnating wage growth in the country, the effects of economic inequality are growing more prominent. Studies by Bloomberg indicate that the top 20% of Australians have more than 90 times the wealth of the bottom 20%.

    Albanese said he aimed to be sworn in swiftly so he could attend a meeting of the Quad security grouping in Tokyo on Tuesday. He promised constitutional recognition and parliamentary representation for Indigenous Aboriginals, as well as the establishment of an anti-corruption commission. The Labor has promised more financial assistance and a robust social safety net as Australia grapples with the highest inflation since 2001 and soaring housing prices. The party also plans to increase minimum wages, and on the foreign policy front, it proposed to establish a Pacific defence school to train neighbouring armies in response to China’s potential military presence on the Solomon Islands on Australia’s doorstep. He has promised to rehabilitate Australia's international reputation as a climate change laggard with steeper cuts to greenhouse gas emissions. 

    At a time when conservative politics down under has displayed some small-t Trumpian traits, historians may conclude that Australian voters evicted from office the country's first post-truth prime minister. The federal election has made politics here greener, more feminine and, at a time of creeping Americanisation, more emphatically Australian. Perhaps the overwhelming message from voters is that they want a different kind of politics. Certainly, 2022 will be remembered for its shock to the system result.