The ruling Labor Party, led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, won the parliamentary elections in Australia on Saturday, May 3. Instead of the inevitable defeat that seemed so recently, she was in for a resounding success. The defeat of the Liberal Party, which was considered the favorite of the election, which is close in its views to the American Republicans, is attributed to the fact that it could not distance itself from Donald Trump. Meanwhile, there probably won’t be any drastic changes in foreign policy. Despite serious economic ties with China, the Labor Party will continue its pro-Western anti-Chinese course.
The Labor Party won 85 seats in the House of Representatives, 8 more than in 2022. For a majority in the legislature, 76 seats had to be secured. Albanese lifted the curse on Australian politicians: he became the first prime minister in 20 years to be re-elected for a second term. Albanese became the second Labor member after John Howard to be re-elected to the prime minister’s post. Howard defended the prime minister’s chair back in 2004.
A humiliating fact for the opposition speaks to the confidence of the Labor Party’s victory. Liberal Party leader Peter Dutton lost his seat in parliament, which he had held for 24 years. In the elections in the district of the city of Dickson, he was beaten by the Labor candidate. The Australian media often recalls the recent elections in Canada (see NG dated 04/29/25). At the beginning of the year, the success of the Labor Party was incredible. Albanese’s rating was at an all-time low. He was blamed for failures in economic policy, declining living standards and rising prices. However, as in the case of Canada, the ruling unpopular party was able to turn the situation around, and thanks to the factor of the US president. Just as Canadians voted for those who most actively opposed Trump’s tariff policy, Australians voted for a political force that positions itself as an opponent of Trumpism – more precisely, its Australian version, represented by the Liberal Party and its leader.
Dutton exploited the image of the “Australian Trump.” With harsh statements and calls to combat, as he put it, “violent minorities that determine the country’s policy,” the head of the Liberal Party clearly resembled the current president of the United States. Dutton overestimated the desire of Australians for change and their sympathy for radical conservative ideas. The slogan “Vote for liberals and nationalists” has definitely not found support in society.
The liberals lost the most votes in large cities. The urban environment turned out to be the least susceptible to the Australian version of Trumpism. Dutton took full responsibility for the defeat and said that these elections were a signal that it was time for the party to change. And most likely, the changes will start from the head. Surely the Liberal Party is awaiting the election of a new leader. The defeat of another opposition force was added to the liberals’ failures. The Greens, according to preliminary data, lost all four of their seats in the House of Representatives, the lower house of the Australian parliament.
In his first statements after the victory, Albanese did not touch on the changes that had taken place in the Liberal Party. The prime minister refrained from making any attacks on Dutton. He said that the voters had made a choice in favor of “justice, equal opportunities and social progress.” He also promised to continue reforms in the healthcare sector, housing, and the climate agenda. Albanese said the government would work “in a disciplined and decent manner.” The country’s foreign policy will certainly remain the same. Australia will continue to cooperate within the framework of the United States, Britain and Australia (AUKUS) and the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD).
At the same time, it is possible that the country will begin cautious attempts to diversify its foreign policy. One of the signals for this is, for example, the plan to create radar systems in the Arctic together with Canada.