Despite a first term marred by inflation and rising energy bills, Albanese found new confidence in campaign overshadowed by Trump and a flailing opposition
- Raised by a single mother living in public housing in Sydney, the 62-year-old is fond of saying he was imbued with three great faiths from an early age: the Catholic church, the South Sydney Rabbitohs football club and the Australian Labor party.
- Albanese was the product of a cruise ship romance. He grew up believing his father had died in a car accident before he was born, only learning the truth as a teenager and later travelling to Italy for an emotional reunion just a few years before Carlo Albanese died.
- He worked for Labor minister Tom Uren, and survived the bitter leadership wars between prime ministers Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard, serving as infrastructure minister and later deputy prime minister.
- After two election losses for Labor under Bill Shorten, Albanese’s elevation in 2022 was less an endorsement of his agenda than a repudiation of the sitting Liberal prime minister, Scott Morrison.
Albanese’s victory makes him the first Australian Prime Minister to win re-election for two decades and he will start his second term with at least 87 seats in the 150-seat lower house, according to the most recent estimates.
A clearly emotional Albanese took the stage to cheers just before 10 p.m. local time to thank Australians for choosing a majority Labor government, defying predictions both major parties would lose seats.
“In this time of global uncertainty, Australians have chosen optimism and determination,” Albanese said, at the Labor victory party in Sydney.
Taking onus for the LNC’s loss, Dutton admitted to reporters in Brisbane, “We did not do well enough during this campaign. That much is obvious tonight and I accept full responsibility for that.”
Despite the results, Dutton offered encouragement to colleagues who faced defeats, saying: “We will rebuild from here, and we will do that because we know our values, we know our beliefs, and we will always stick to them.
Dutton’s plight parallels that of Canada’s last opposition leader, Pierre Poilievre, who lost his seat after Trump declared economic war on the U.S. neighbor to the north. Poilievre had previously been regarded as a shoo-in to become Canada’s next prime minister and shepherd his Conservative Party back into power for the first time in a decade.
Analysts argue that mirroring Trump switched from a political positive for Australian conservatives to a negative after Trump imposed global tariffs.
Trumpet of Patriots, a minor party inspired by Trump policies with an advertising budget funded by mining magnate Clive Palmer that eclipses the major parties, attracted only 2% of the vote.
U.S. congratulates Albanese on re-election
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated Albanese on his election to a second three year term.
