Sydney
\nAustralia\u2019s left-leaning Prime Minister Anthony Albanese triumphed on Saturday in national elections, crushing his conservative rival in a contest swayed by economic upheaval and Donald Trump.
\nAlbanese\u2019s slow-but-steady leadership resonated at a time of global tumult, analysts said, with voters deserting hard-nosed opposition leader Peter Dutton in droves.
\nDutton said he had called the prime minister to congratulate him on the win.
\n\u201cWe didn\u2019t do well enough during this campaign. That much is obvious tonight and I accept full responsibility,\u201d he told supporters.
\nNot only was Albanese\u2019s Labour Party on track for an unexpectedly large parliamentary majority, but former police officer Dutton faced the rare humiliation of losing his seat.
\nElated Labour supporters swigged craft beers emblazoned with Albanese\u2019s face at an election party in Sydney, chanting his \u201cAlbo\u201d nickname as results were declared on TV.
\n\u201cThis could be a big win for Labour,\u201d said respected election analyst Antony Green from national broadcaster ABC.
\nAlbanese has promised to embrace renewable energy, tackle a worsening housing crisis, and pour money into a creaking healthcare system.
\nDutton wanted to slash immigration, crack down on crime and ditch a longstanding ban on nuclear power.
\nUS President Trump cast a long shadow over the six-week election campaign, sparking keen global interest in whether his tariff-induced economic chaos would influence the result.
\n\u201cIn times of instability, we expect people to go back to a kind of steady incumbent,\u201d University of Sydney politics lecturer Henry Maher told AFP.
\nDutton\u2019s policy to slash the public service rankled as similar cuts, led by Elon Musk, brought chaos in the United States.
\nAnd his flagship policy to dot the country with nuclear reactors was also widely seen as a liability.
\n\u2018Mad as a cut snake\u2019
\nHungry voters munched on barbecued \u201cdemocracy sausages\u201d after casting their ballot \u2014 a polling day rite of passage \u2014 while others in bright swimwear crammed into booths after taking an early morning plunge.
\nBefore the first vote was even counted, speculation was already mounting over whether Dutton could survive an election loss.
\nSome pre-vote polls showed Dutton leaking support because of Trump, who he praised this year as a \u201cbig thinker\u201d with \u201cgravitas\u201d on the global stage.
\n\u201cI mean, Donald Trump is as mad as a cut snake, and we all know that,\u201d said voter Alan Whitman, 59, before casting his ballot on Saturday.
\n\u201cAnd we\u2019ve got to tiptoe around that.\u201d
\nVoting is compulsory, enforced with fines of Aus$20, leading to turnouts that top 90 per cent.
\nHigh prices
\nAs Australians soured on Trump, both Dutton and Albanese took on a more pugnacious tone.
\n\u201cIf I needed to have a fight with Donald Trump or any other world leader, to advance our nation\u2019s interest, I\u2019d do it in a heartbeat,\u201d Dutton said in April.
\nAlbanese condemned Trump\u2019s tariffs as an act of \u201ceconomic self-harm\u201d and \u201cnot the act of a friend\u201d.
\nEconomic concerns have dominated the contest for the many Australian households struggling to pay inflated prices for milk, bread, power and petrol.
\n\u201cThe cost of living \u2014 it\u2019s extremely high at the moment. So, taxes as well, is also another really big thing. Petrol prices, all the basic stuff,\u201d human resources manager Robyn Knox told AFP in Brisbane.
\nSmall business owner Jared Bell had similar concerns.
\n\u201cOur grocery shops are definitely way more expensive than they were a couple years ago,\u201d he said.
\nCampaign stumbles
\nAlbanese\u2019s government has embraced the global push towards decarbonisation, warning of a future in which iron ore and polluting coal exports no longer prop up the economy.
\nThe 36-day campaign was a largely staid affair, but there were a few moments of unscripted levity.
\nAlbanese tumbled backwards off the stage at a heaving campaign rally, while Dutton drew blood when he hit an unsuspecting cameraman in the head with a stray football.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sydney Australia\u2019s left-leaning Prime Minister Anthony Albanese triumphed on Saturday in national elections, crushing his conservative rival in a contest swayed by economic upheaval and Donald Trump. Albanese\u2019s slow-but-steady leadership resonated at a time of global tumult, analysts said, with voters deserting hard-nosed opposition leader Peter Dutton in droves. Dutton said he had called the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":476192,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-476288","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n