Australian Election Results: Trump’s Impact and Key Takeaways
Australia’s opposition party has suffered a devastating defeat in the recent federal election, marking its worst-ever loss. The Liberal party, led by Peter Dutton, lost its seat of Dickson, which it had held for 24 years. Labor’s landslide victory means the Liberal party is scrambling to find a new leader and address their campaign failures.
Some Liberal party members have called for a "serious review," with one adviser summarizing the loss as a failure of the "Dutton experiment." Dutton, who also lost his own seat, has become the first federal opposition leader to lose both their seat and the election simultaneously.
Labor’s Ali France defeated Dutton in his home base of Dickson in Queensland. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, in his first public appearance after Labor’s emphatic win, told media outside a Sydney cafe that "the Australian people voted for unity rather than division."
The Liberal party’s most crushing losses were in major cities, where party members have been all but wiped out in metropolitan areas including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Adelaide. Liberal MP Keith Wolahan has called for a "serious review" of the systemic issues that led to the party’s shock defeat.
Wolahan, who represents the seat of Menzies in Victoria, said it was very likely he would also lose his seat. When asked if Peter Dutton himself was the problem, Wolahan declined to answer directly but said he has great respect for the Liberal leader.
Some Liberal party members were more blunt, with Andrew Carswell, a former adviser to Australia’s last Liberal prime minister, telling the ABC that the "Dutton experiment failed" and that Saturday’s loss was "a complete catastrophe for the Coalition." Carswell also drew parallels between Dutton and American President Donald Trump, citing Trump’s presence as a major factor in thwarting Dutton’s campaign.
Dutton’s loss has now set in motion the scramble for a new Liberal party leader. Some tipped as potential contenders include shadow treasurer Angus Taylor and deputy leader Sussan Ley. Shadow immigration minister Dan Tehan and shadow minister of defense Andrew Hastie have also been mentioned.
Without a clear frontrunner, the Liberal party will have to regroup in the coming days and develop a new strategy to win back the voters they lost.
Reference : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg72x3dd7ydo
