Latest news with #Trump-swayed
Kuwait Times
04-05-2025
- Business
- Kuwait Times
Australian PM basks in win, vows ‘orderly' government
Trump tariffs may have aided Albanese victory: Analysts SYDNEY: Australia's left-leaning Prime Minister Anthony Albanese basked Sunday in his landslide election win, promising a 'disciplined, orderly' government to confront cost-of-living pain and tariff turmoil. Residents clapped as the 62-year-old and his fiancee Jodie Haydon visited his old inner Sydney haunt, Cafe Italia, surrounded by a crowd of jostling photographers and TV journalists. Albanese's Labor Party is on course to win at least 83 seats in the 150-member parliament, partial results showed. Opposition leader Peter Dutton's conservative Liberal-National coalition had just 38 seats, and other parties 12. Another 17 seats were still in doubt. 'We will be a disciplined, orderly government in our second term,' Albanese said, after scooping ice cream for journalists in a cafe he used to visit with his late mother. 'We'll work hard each and every day,' he promised, but took a quick break first for a Sunday afternoon visit to a craft brewery, Willie the Boatman, that serves 'Albo Pale Ale'. Dutton, a hard-nosed former policeman—who critics tagged 'Trump-lite' for policies that included slashing the civil service—endured the rare humiliation of losing his own seat. US President Donald Trump's trade tariffs, and the chaos they unleashed, may not have been the biggest factor in the Labor Party victory—but analysts said they helped. 'If we want to understand why a good chunk of the electorate has changed across the election campaign over the last couple of months, I think that's the biggest thing,' said Henry Maher, a politics lecturer at the University of Sydney. 'In times of instability, we expect people to go back to a kind of steady incumbent.' The scale of Albanese's win took his own party by surprise. 'It's still sinking in,' Treasurer Jim Chalmers said. 'This was beyond even our most optimistic expectations. It was a history-making night. It was one for the ages,' Chalmers told national broadcaster ABC. But the win came with 'healthy helpings of humility', he said, because under-pressure Australians want 'stability in uncertain times'. Albanese has promised to embrace renewable energy, cut taxes, tackle a worsening housing crisis, and pour money into a creaking healthcare system. 'The cost of living—it's extremely high at the moment... Petrol prices, all the basic stuff,' human resources manager Robyn Knox told AFP in Brisbane. The 36-day campaign was a largely staid affair but there were moments of unscripted levity. Tariffs impact Donald Trump's stinging trade tariffs may have helped Australia's left-leaning prime minister snatch a resounding election victory Saturday, analysts say. Unlike Canada's Trump-swayed vote three days earlier, the US president was far from the biggest concern for voters who backed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, academics said. But some said Trump nevertheless appeared to have a significant impact on the governing Labor Party's late turnaround in the opinion polls, and the emphatic election result. After trailing three months ago, Labor overtook opposition leader Peter Dutton's conservative coalition and led a string of polls up to election day. Dutton's perceived "Trump-lite" policies -- such as axing public service jobs in a drive for government efficiency -- had turned some voters off, said Henry Maher, politics lecturer at the University of Sydney. "Of course, there are other concerns -- cost of living, defense, health and everything else," he told AFP. "But if we want to understand why a good chunk of the electorate has changed across the election campaign over the last couple of months, I think that's the biggest thing." Trump's unpopular 10-percent tariff on goods from longtime ally Australia, and the financial market disruption caused by his global trade policy, may have unnerved voters, Maher said. "In times of instability, we expect people to go back to a kind of steady incumbent," he said. The Australian public's confidence in its strongest ally, the United States, appears to have evaporated under Trump. Only 36 percent of Australians trust the United States, according to an annual poll by the Lowy Institute -- down 20 percentage points from 2024. Dutton, who lost his own parliamentary seat in the election drubbing, earlier this year described Trump as a "big thinker" and 'shrewd'. - AFP
RNZ News
03-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Trump may have aided Australian PM's election victory, analysts say
By David Williams , AFP US President Donald Trump and Australia's newly re-elected Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Photo: AFP Donald Trump's stinging trade tariffs may have helped Australia's left-leaning prime minister snatch a resounding election victory on Saturday, analysts say. Unlike Canada's Trump-swayed vote three days earlier, the US president was far from the biggest concern for voters who backed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, academics said. But some said Trump nevertheless appeared to have a significant impact on the governing Labor Party's late turnaround in the opinion polls, and the emphatic election result. After trailing three months ago, Labor overtook opposition leader Peter Dutton's conservative coalition and led a string of polls up to election day. Dutton's perceived "Trump-lite" policies - such as axing public service jobs in a drive for government efficiency - had turned some voters off, said Henry Maher, politics lecturer at the University of Sydney. "Of course, there are other concerns - cost of living, defence, health and everything else," he told AFP. "But if we want to understand why a good chunk of the electorate has changed across the election campaign over the last couple of months, I think that's the biggest thing." Donald Trump has intimidated Australian voters, one academic says. Photo: AFP / Andrew Caballero-Reynolds Trump's unpopular 10 percent tariff on goods from longtime ally Australia, and the financial market disruption caused by his global trade policy, may have unnerved voters, Maher said. "In times of instability, we expect people to go back to a kind of steady incumbent," he said. The Australian public's confidence in its strongest ally, the United States, appears to have evaporated under Trump. Only 36 percent of Australians trust the United States, according to an annual poll by the Lowy Institute - down 20 percentage points from 2024. Dutton, who lost his own parliamentary seat in the election drubbing, earlier this year described Trump as a "big thinker" and "shrewd". But he and Albanese both stiffened their rhetoric, insisting they would not bow to the American leader when defending Australia's interests. Kate Harrison Brennan, who was an advisor to Labor's former prime minister Julia Gillard, said Dutton's coalition had tried out policies that "looked quite similar to those in the United States". Trump "definitely" had an impact on the election, she told AFP. Australians had seen the global disruption under Trump, Harrison Brennan, director of the University of Sydney's Policy Lab said. This, in turn, had benefited Albanese. "He's made that case well, that in that type of changing world and volatility, he'd bring calm but effective leadership for Australia," she said. Not all analysts agreed that Trump was the deciding factor. Paul Williams, political scientist at Griffith University, said Albanese would have won even if Joe Biden was still in the White House. The Australian central bank's decision to cut key interest rates in February represented a "turning point" in Labor's fortunes, he said. "Obviously this has been a cost-of-living election, but my take is that the sting is coming out of the tail of the cost of living, because wages are catching up to inflation," Williams told AFP. He did not believe Dutton had lifted policies from Trump. Liberal leader Peter Dutton Photo: DAVID GRAY / AFP But the conservative leader had only proposed a few policies, such as introducing nuclear power to Australia, and had failed to explain them clearly to voters. And he had been forced to abandon a short-lived, coolly received plan to stop public servants working from home, which would have hit women voters in particular, Williams said. That and other shifts in the Dutton campaign's policies opened him up to accusations that he could not be relied on to govern. "They have not gone through a single week of this campaign where they have not flipped and flopped," Albanese said on the eve of the election. Undecided voters were not avoiding Dutton because he reminded them of Trump, Williams said. "They are doing it because of Peter Dutton. Peter Dutton has lost this election because of Peter Dutton." - AFP
RNZ News
03-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Australia election: How the world's media conveyed Labor's win - 'a win for the ages'
Anthony Albanese has defied the "incumbency curse", the BBC says. Photo: Getty Images/ Izhar Khan Australian voters have delivered Anthony Albanese "a win for the ages" that should see Labor with more seats than at any point in its history, the ABC says. More even than Kevin Rudd or Bob Hawke after their most famous victories. Albanese outperformed the polls and the pundits' expectations on a historic night that will leave the Coalition interrogating where it all went so very wrong, with Peter Dutton "fired into the sun" and many other senior figures and potential future leaders wiped out. The Labor landslide has also overshadowed the ongoing rise and rise of independents in Australian politics, the ABC report said. Albanese has delivered a personal pledge to Australians to repay their trust after gaining an extraordinary victory at the federal election, as Labor stunned its opponents by increasing its majority in parliament and driving Dutton to defeat in his home seat, the Sydney Morning Herald said. Liberal leader Peter Dutton Photo: AFP The powerful swing put the government on track to gain at least 14 seats, with some supporters describing the outcome as a landslide, as their opponents reeled from the scale of their losses. It called the result a "historic victory" for Labor. Albanese defied the so-called "incumbency curse" to be re-elected Australia's prime minister in a landslide, the BBC said. Cost-of-living concerns - particularly the affordability of healthcare and housing - dominated the five-week campaign, but international relations also reared its head, with the issue of how to deal with US President Donald Trump looming large over the election. Dutton was seen by many as Australia's Trump, which appeared to go down badly with voters, despite his attempts to shake off comparisons made between his policies on immigration, public sector cuts and China, and the Trump administration. People wait to vote at a Sydney electorate yesterday. Photo: RNZ/Nick Monro It was a remarkable turnaround from the start of the year, when polling put Albanese's popularity at record lows after three years of global economic pain, tense national debate, and growing government dissatisfaction, the BBC said. International news agency AFP interviewed several analysts for its report and several identified the US president as a pivotal force in the election result. Trump's stinging trade tariffs may have helped Australia's left-leaning prime minister snatch a resounding election victory Saturday, it reported. Unlike Canada's Trump-swayed vote three days earlier, the US president was far from the biggest concern for voters who backed Albanese, academics told AFP. But some said Trump nevertheless appeared to have a significant impact on the governing Labor Party's late turnaround in the opinion polls, and the emphatic election result. A happy Labor supporter in Sydney last night. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro Al Jazeera said Albanese rode an anti-Trump wave to a landslide victory and a historic second term . It was described as "a dramatic comeback for his Labor Party in a general election dominated by the cost-of-living crisis". He was on track for "an unexpectedly large parliamentary majority, as Dutton, leader of the conservative Liberal Party, conceded defeat and the loss of his own seat". Albanese has secured a second term in office in a disastrous night for his conservative rivals , as voters chose stability over change against a backdrop of global turmoil inflicted by Trump, CNN reported. While Australia was not facing the same threats to its sovereignty as Canada, Trump's global tariffs and policy swings had undermined Australians' trust in the US, according to recent surveys, the report said. Dutton entered the five-week campaign on a strong footing. But analysts said 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 percent 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, CNN said.
France 24
03-05-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Trump may have aided Australian PM's election victory: analysts
Unlike Canada's Trump-swayed vote three days earlier, the US president was far from the biggest concern for voters who backed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, academics said. But some said Trump nevertheless appeared to have a significant impact on the governing Labor Party's late turnaround in the opinion polls, and the emphatic election result. After trailing three months ago, Labor overtook opposition leader Peter Dutton's conservative coalition and led a string of polls up to election day. Dutton's perceived "Trump-lite" policies -- such as axing public service jobs in a drive for government efficiency -- had turned some voters off, said Henry Maher, politics lecturer at the University of Sydney. "Of course, there are other concerns -- cost of living, defence, health and everything else," he told AFP. "But if we want to understand why a good chunk of the electorate has changed across the election campaign over the last couple of months, I think that's the biggest thing." Trump's unpopular 10-percent tariff on goods from longtime ally Australia, and the financial market disruption caused by his global trade policy, may have unnerved voters, Maher said. "In times of instability, we expect people to go back to a kind of steady incumbent," he said. 'Volatility' The Australian public's confidence in its strongest ally, the United States, appears to have evaporated under Trump. Only 36 percent of Australians trust the United States, according to an annual poll by the Lowy Institute -- down 20 percentage points from 2024. Dutton, who lost his own parliamentary seat in the election drubbing, earlier this year described Trump as a "big thinker" and "shrewd". But he and Albanese both stiffened their rhetoric, insisting they would not bow to the American leader when defending Australia's interests. Kate Harrison Brennan, who was an advisor to Labor's former prime minister Julia Gillard, said Dutton's coalition had tried out policies that "looked quite similar to those in the United States". Trump "definitely" had an impact on the election, she told AFP. Australians had seen the global disruption under Trump, said Harrison Brennan, director of the University of Sydney's Policy Lab. This, in turn, had benefited Albanese. "He's made that case well, that in that type of changing world and volatility, he'd bring calm but effective leadership for Australia," she said. Not all analysts agreed that Trump was the deciding factor. Paul Williams, political scientist at Griffith University, said Albanese would have won even if Joe Biden was still in the White House. 'Turning point' The Australian central bank's decision to cut key interest rates in February represented a "turning point" in Labor's fortunes, he said. "Obviously this has been a cost-of-living election, but my take is that the sting is coming out of the tail of the cost of living, because wages are catching up to inflation," Williams told AFP. He did not believe Dutton had lifted policies from Trump. But the conservative leader had only proposed a few policies, such as introducing nuclear power to Australia, and had failed to explain them clearly to voters. And he had been forced to abandon a short-lived, coolly received plan to stop public servants working from home, which would have hit women voters in particular, Williams said. That and other shifts in the Dutton campaign's policies opened him up to accusations that he could not be relied on to govern. "They have not gone through a single week of this campaign where they have not flipped and flopped," Albanese said on the eve of the election. Undecided voters were not avoiding Dutton because he reminded them of Trump, Williams said. "They are doing it because of Peter Dutton. Peter Dutton has lost this election because of Peter Dutton."
Int'l Business Times
03-05-2025
- Business
- Int'l Business Times
Trump May Have Aided Australian PM's Election Victory: Analysts
Donald Trump's stinging trade tariffs may have helped Australia's left-leaning prime minister snatch a resounding election victory Saturday, analysts say. Unlike Canada's Trump-swayed vote three days earlier, the US president was far from the biggest concern for voters who backed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, academics said. But some said Trump nevertheless appeared to have a significant impact on the governing Labor Party's late turnaround in the opinion polls, and the emphatic election result. After trailing three months ago, Labor overtook opposition leader Peter Dutton's conservative coalition and led a string of polls up to election day. Dutton's perceived "Trump-lite" policies -- such as axing public service jobs in a drive for government efficiency -- had turned some voters off, said Henry Maher, politics lecturer at the University of Sydney. "Of course, there are other concerns -- cost of living, defence, health and everything else," he told AFP. "But if we want to understand why a good chunk of the electorate has changed across the election campaign over the last couple of months, I think that's the biggest thing." Trump's unpopular 10-percent tariff on goods from longtime ally Australia, and the financial market disruption caused by his global trade policy, may have unnerved voters, Maher said. "In times of instability, we expect people to go back to a kind of steady incumbent," he said. The Australian public's confidence in its strongest ally, the United States, appears to have evaporated under Trump. Only 36 percent of Australians trust the United States, according to an annual poll by the Lowy Institute -- down 20 percentage points from 2024. Dutton, who lost his own parliamentary seat in the election drubbing, earlier this year described Trump as a "big thinker" and "shrewd". But he and Albanese both stiffened their rhetoric, insisting they would not bow to the American leader when defending Australia's interests. Kate Harrison Brennan, who was an advisor to Labor's former prime minister Julia Gillard, said Dutton's coalition had tried out policies that "looked quite similar to those in the United States". Trump "definitely" had an impact on the election, she told AFP. Australians had seen the global disruption under Trump, said Harrison Brennan, director of the University of Sydney's Policy Lab. This, in turn, had benefited Albanese. "He's made that case well, that in that type of changing world and volatility, he'd bring calm but effective leadership for Australia," she said. Not all analysts agreed that Trump was the deciding factor. Paul Williams, political scientist at Griffith University, said Albanese would have won even if Joe Biden was still in the White House. The Australian central bank's decision to cut key interest rates in February represented a "turning point" in Labor's fortunes, he said. "Obviously this has been a cost-of-living election, but my take is that the sting is coming out of the tail of the cost of living, because wages are catching up to inflation," Williams told AFP. He did not believe Dutton had lifted policies from Trump. But the conservative leader had only proposed a few policies, such as introducing nuclear power to Australia, and had failed to explain them clearly to voters. And he had been forced to abandon a short-lived, coolly received plan to stop public servants working from home, which would have hit women voters in particular, Williams said. That and other shifts in the Dutton campaign's policies opened him up to accusations that he could not be relied on to govern. "They have not gone through a single week of this campaign where they have not flipped and flopped," Albanese said on the eve of the election. Undecided voters were not avoiding Dutton because he reminded them of Trump, Williams said. "They are doing it because of Peter Dutton. Peter Dutton has lost this election because of Peter Dutton." Australia's opposition leader Peter Dutton waves after conceding defeat in a general election AFP Labor Party supporters react as national broadcaster ABC projects a win for the party in Australia's general election AFP
