The Australian Labor Party has taken over after Morrison’s defeat

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By Ben Westcott and Georgina Mackay

(Bloomberg) –

Australia’s Labor Party is poised to take power for the first time since 2013, as voters boot Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s Conservative government on the prospect of more action on climate change, women’s issues and anti-corruption efforts.

Morrison conceded defeat on Saturday night and congratulated 59-year-old Anthony Albanese on the victory of the Labor Party, which won a majority in the 151-seat parliament. The Australian Broadcasting Commission said Labor had won at least 72 seats, compared to 54 for Morrison’s Liberal-National Coalition, with independent and third parties taking 11 more.

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“It says a lot about our great country that the son of an unmarried mother who was a disabled pensioner who grew up in public housing down the street in Camperdown can stand before you tonight as Prime Minister of Australia,” Albanese said in a victory. Speak loud cheers.

“Together we can end the climate war. Together we can seize the opportunity to be a renewable energy superpower for Australia, “he said.

Environmental issues Climate-centric and the Green Party – which has seen its best results of all time – helped change the vote by snatching once-safe seats from the two main parties. The most prominent lawmaker in the fall was Treasurer Josh Friedenberg, widely regarded as the future leader of the Liberal Party – raising new questions about who would lead from Morrison, who said he was resigning as party leader.

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Still, it wasn’t all good news for Labor. The party did worse than expected from opinion polls, which saw them at gaining about 32% of the vote.

Albanese, a career politician with working-class roots, is poised to inherit an economy with record-low unemployment that has seen the fastest price gain since June 2001. A country that exports more fossil fuels than any other country except Russia and Saudi Arabia has more to do with the fight against climate change.

Morrison’s coalition has overtaken the Labor Party in opinion polls across the campaign as it competes for a fourth term, leaving 26 million people in the country frustrated with its epidemic management and natural disasters related to climate change. In the final NewsPol poll before the election, Morrison’s net approval rating was almost three times lower than his opponent’s.

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“In this country, at a time when we look around the world, and especially when we see those in Ukraine fighting for their freedom and independence, I think we can reflect on our generosity on a night like tonight. Democracy, “Morrison acknowledged. “I congratulate Anthony Albanese and the Labor Party, and I congratulate him and his government.”

Albaniz said members of his party would be sworn in on Monday. Those who are focusing on the economy will also start working then.

He faces an immediate foreign policy test as he travels to Tokyo to attend a quad meeting with President Joe Biden, Japan’s Fumio Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In recent years, the grouping of democracies has gained momentum in the region as a key bloc against China’s growing economic and military power.

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Although Morrison sought to present the Albanians as soft on China, the Labor Party adopted a very similar policy toward the government towards Australia’s largest trading partner. Relations between the two countries have deteriorated in recent years, prompting calls for an investigation into the origins of the Morrison Covid-19 and attempts to stop Chinese political interference, leading to trade retaliation from Beijing.

China’s security pact with the Solomon Islands, about 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) from Australia, has hampered efforts to make Morrison’s national defense a key part of its campaign strategy. Labor described the announcement as the worst foreign policy failure in Canberra since World War II, with Albanians vowing to improve relations with the country’s Pacific neighbors.

While polling showed support for the Labor campaign in Australia over the “cost of the crisis of life”, some members of the Albanian party publicly predicted Morrison’s surprise victory in 2019, which he described as a “miracle”. Now the team can finally celebrate.

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