And Trump's impact doesn't stop with the US. It looks like he is making left-leaning parties great again across the world
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has secured a second term in office in what appears to be an election wipeout for the Liberal Party leader, as voters chose stability over change against a backdrop of global turmoil inflicted by a returning US President Donald Trump.
Albanese’s Labor Party was on course to secure a majority, and while votes were still being counted, early results showed a sharp swing towards his center-left party, according to projections from national broadcaster the ABC and CNN affiliate Sky News.
Liberal Party leader Peter Dutton, who had hoped to end the night as prime minister, lost the outer-suburban Brisbane seat that he’s held for more than 20 years, ending a brutal night for the veteran politician who held senior seats in the last Coalition government.
The Labor victory makes Albanese the first Australian Prime Minister to win re-election for two decades, since John Howard in 2004.Labor Party supporters react as a projection of the results in the general election are seen on a news report at the party's election night event in Sydney on May 3.
Australia’s return of a left-leaning government follows Canada’s similar sharp swing towards Mark Carney’s Liberal Party.
While Australia wasn’t facing the same threats to its sovereignty as Canada, Trump’s global tariffs and policy swings have undermined Australians’ trust in the US, according to recent surveys.
Dutton entered the five-week campaign on a strong footing. But analysts say his chances were badly damaged by policy misses and reversals, and weighed down by Trump’s wrecking-ball approach to the global order.
By contrast, Albanese’s Labor Party was able to demonstrate a steady hand – striking an authoritative tone in response to Trump’s decision to impose 10% tariffs on Australia, which were later paused, analysts said. After Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day” announcement, Albanese called a press conference and, flanked by his foreign and trade ministers, said: “This is not the act of a friend.
”In contrast, Dutton struggled to shake off comparisons to Trump by his opponents, not just because some policies appeared to have been inspired by the US leader.During the campaign, the senator he tapped to become shadow minister for government efficiency, declared she wanted to “make Australia great again.”Jacinta Nampijinpa Price later said she didn’t realize she’d said it. Asked Saturday, if the Trump comparisons had hurt Dutton, Price said: “If you sling enough mud, it will stick.
”Trump’s tariffs impact race
The candidates’ ability to deal with the US president had been a talking point of the campaign. Despite criticism that he had been unable to get Trump on the phone, Albanese said they had shared “warm” conversations in the past and he saw no reason not to trust him. Canberra remains a staunch ally of Washington, despite Trump’s tariffs threat.
In the last three years, Albanese has been credited with improving relations with China, leading to the lifting of tariffs imposed during his predecessor’s term. His government has also repaired relations with Pacific Island nations, in part to prevent Beijing from filling a leadership vacuum. On foreign relations, he’s promised more of the same.Albanese’s government had been widely criticized for not being aggressive enough in efforts to tame rising living costs, from grocery bills to houses prices. During his second term, he’s promised to ease cost-of-living pressures after a long period of high inflation, provide a tax cut and short-term relief from higher energy bills, and build 1.2 million houses to ease the housing crisis.
Andrea Carson, Professor of Political Communication at La Trobe University in Melbourne, said Albanese’s tenure has fallen during a difficult time to govern, “coming off the back of Covid, in times of austerity.”
“A high-inflation environment, which other developed economies have also experienced, provides limitations on the capacity for a government to act on those big structural reforms,” Carson said.Albanese used the campaign to tell voters their country had turned the corner and that inflation, and interest rates, had fallen. It seems to have worked, with voters backing Labor’s cost-of-living offerings over those proposed by the opposition.
The Liberal Party’s loss means Dutton’s plan to build seven nuclear plants won’t move forward. Instead, Albanese’s next term will see the continued rapid rollout of renewable energy projects that has angered some rural voters.
Some communities say industrial energy projects – solar and windfarms and battery installations –are destroying forest habitat and the quality of life they once enjoyed. The government aims to cut carbon emissions by 43% by 2030 – and to date says it’s approved enough renewable power projects to power 10 million homes. ---
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/05/03/australia/australia-election-results-albanese-dutton-intl-hnk
