SYDNEY (Reuters) – The Labor Party is expected to return to power in Australia after nine years in opposition after parliamentary elections on Saturday saw the breakthrough of independent candidates who have focused on environmental issues.
Conservative Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that he had called his Labor opponent Anthony Albanese to congratulate him on his victory. He also made it known that he was going to leave the head of the Liberal Party.
“I spoke this evening to the leader of the opposition and future Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and I congratulated him on his electoral victory this evening,” said the head of government in a television address.
Labour, however, is likely to have to ally itself with the Greens and a group known as the “teal independents”, who have campaigned on the themes of ethics, equality and the fight against climate change in a country, one of the largest exporters of coal and gas in the world, whose economy is partly based on the mining and hydrocarbons sector.
Partial results show that Scott Morrison’s coalition, branded climate-skeptical by its critics, was punished at the polls in affluent urban centers and Western Australia.
Symbol of this sanction vote, the Treasurer of the government, Josh Frydenberg, admitted that it would be “difficult” for him to keep his seat in the constituency of Kooyong Melbourne, yet a stronghold of the Liberal Party, against an independent candidate, Monique Ryan, new to politics.
The lower house of the Australian Parliament has 151 seats and the absolute majority is therefore 76 deputies. The final results could be delayed due to the historically large number of postal votes.
According to projections by Australian public television (ABC), Labor has made modest gains with 72 seats, while Scott Morrison’s coalition only wins 52. The Independents and the Greens would have 11 seats. The results for 16 constituencies are uncertain.
“I believe people want to come together, look out for our common interest, look towards that sense of common purpose. I believe people are tired of divisions, what they want is to come together as nation and I intend to lead in this direction”, said Anthony Albanese while going to the evening organized by his party.
Labor led the campaign denouncing high inflation and weak wage growth while Scott Morrison tried to highlight the low unemployment rate, the lowest for almost half a century, but it seems that the theme of the climate was imposed on part of the electorate after serious floods and fires experienced by Australia.
(Report Renju Jose, John Mair and Byron Kaye Sydney and Sonali Paul Melbourne; written by Lincoln Feast, French version Camille Raynaud and Bertrand Boucey)
by Byron Kaye and Lincoln Feast