Did anti-Trump rhetoric help Anthony Albanese win Australian election?

India Today

03-05-2025

Anthony Albanese from the Labour Party claimed victory as the first Australian Prime Minister to clinch a second consecutive term in 21 years on Saturday, as the polling to elect the members of the 48th Parliament of Australia closed on May 3.In his victory speech, Albanese asserted, 'Australians have chosen to face global challenges the Australian way, looking after each other while building for the future... We do not need to beg or borrow or copy from anywhere else. We do not seek our inspiration overseas. We find it right here in our values and in our people.advertisementIn the fight between Australia's centre-left Labour Party and the conservative opposition, the Labour Party was already projected to win, as per the analysis by Sky News Australia and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
The 62-year-old Albanese has become the first Australian Prime Minister to win a second term in more than two decades. The outcome represents a remarkable turnaround for the 62-year-old Albanese, who, according to the Washington Post, was trailing in poll projections just two months ago.Albanese's win is being credited partly to his government's handling of the Australian economy, which saw a revival after a slump in late 2024. His strong stance against controversial trade tariffs imposed by the US administration under President Donald Trump has also been highlighted as a key factor.Called the 'Trump effect' by Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers, these are a series of anxiety-inducing policies amid the growing cost-of-living crisis in the country taken by the US administration against the friendly nation.THE 'TRUMP EFFECT' ON CENTRE-LEFT POLITICSadvertisementThe US has been Australia's strongest military ally since World War II. Recently, in a deal with Britain, the countries have boosted Australia's navy with stealthy nuclear-powered submarines. Yet, while calling Australians "wonderful people", Trump accused the nation of banning US beef while exporting billions of dollars' worth for their own benefit.The Trump administration, as part of its broad reciprocal tariffs, initially imposed 25 per cent tariffs on Australia's aluminium and steel and then imposed 10 per cent tariffs across the board.This 10 per cent tariff imposition led to the central bank cutting rates in February, on the eve of the election being called. To this, Treasurer Charmers said that the influence of American politics is rising in Australia.Last month, Albanese called the imposition of 10 per cent tariffs on Australia by the US 'not the act of a friend'.He added, "These tariffs are not unexpected, but let me be clear, they are totally unwarranted'. This is because Australia charges nothing on US imports.Michael Fullilove, the executive director of a Sydney-based think-tank, said: 'Around the world, Mr. Trump's unpopularity presents an opportunity for centre-left political parties'.The recent re-election of Mike Carney as the Prime Minister of Canada has a resemblance to Albanese's political resurrection.advertisementTrump's threats to make Canada the 51st state of the US and threats to impose a 25 per cent tariff on the nation worked in Carney's favour, who took a strong stance to say that he would only visit Washington when there was a "serious discussion to be had" that respected Canada's sovereignty, as reported by the BBC.After his landslide win, Albanese at the victory party, without mentioning the US President, said, 'Australians have chosen to face global challenges the Australian way.'EFFECT OF THE 'TARIFF-WAR' ON AUSTRALIAN OPPOSITIONSean Kelly, a political columnist for the Sydney Morning Herald, said that because of Trump's tariffs, Australian voters were driven away from the conservative opponents who were echoing the rhetoric of the US President.He told the Washington Post, 'Trump has absolutely dominated the trajectory of this election' and that his causing global uncertainty made, 'Albanese's boringness quite an appealing commodity'.Amid the Australian population, nicknames like 'DOGE-y Dutton' and 'Temu Trump' became common satirical jibes against the opposition conservative party leader, Peter Dutton.An ex-police officer, Dutton has been accused of stoking culture wars by claiming that Australia takes in too many migrants, similar to Trump's anti-immigrant sentimentalities.advertisementA few days before the election, he branded the nation's public broadcaster as 'hate media'.Frank Bongiorno, professor of history at the Australian National University, said, 'His instincts are those of a right-wing populist. I have no doubt about that, so they do bear resemblance to the kind of politics and rhetoric we've associated with Trump'.This strategy to embrace a Trump-like policy backfired for the opposition, members of which also attended his inauguration, when the US president announced global tariffs.Even the opposition party spokesperson, Senator James Paterson, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the Trump Factor 'was devastating in Canada for the conservatives'.During his victory speech, Albanese targeted the opposition's failed embrace of Trump-like policies and said, 'We do not need to beg or borrow or copy from anywhere else', reported the Washington Post.He added, 'We do not seek out our inspiration overseas. We find it right here in our values and in our people'.Trending Reel