Prime Minister Albanese Wins Second Term in Australian Landslide

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese secured a historic second term following a landslide election victory over the weekend, defying predictions of an “incumbency curse” in a race dominated by cost-of-living concerns and voters rejecting divisive campaign tactics, the BBC reported.

Though official results are expected later this week, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation projected that Albanese’s Labor Party will win around 86 seats, compared with about 40 for the opposition Liberal-National Coalition.

That will make Albanese the first Australian leader in more than 20 years to win re-election and signal a possible end to the country’s cycle of political instability, which has resulted in six different prime ministers in the past 18 years.

It’s also a stinging defeat for the Liberal Party and its leader, Peter Dutton, who lost his own seat of 24 years.

Albanese framed the result as a win for “fairness, aspiration, and opportunity.”

Dutton’s campaign struggled to connect with voters. Despite efforts to distance himself from hardline politics, the opposition leader’s positions on immigration, public services, and national identity prompted former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to describe his strategy as “very Trumpian,” as US tariffs and insults upset Australians.

With a commanding mandate, the ruling Labor party may pursue bolder reforms, CNN wrote.

The prime minister has pledged to improve healthcare, tackle housing affordability, and accelerate climate initiatives. He also pledged renewed efforts toward reconciliation with Indigenous Australians following the failed Voice referendum in 2023.

Australia’s election mirrored Canada’s recent Liberal victory, where fears of US President Donald Trump’s policies similarly helped left-leaning parties retain power. In contrast, the right-wing populist Reform party made major gains in local elections in the United Kingdom last week, the Washington Post added.

The gains came at the expense of both the governing Labour Party and opposition Conservatives, prompting political analysts to suggest that voters are dissatisfied with both major parties and Reform now has “the momentum of a winning party.”