Australia’s Liberal National coalition government under Prime Minister Scott Morrison has won a historic victory, taking his party for a third term in government against all expectations.It is still unknown if Morrison will form a majority or minority government, but swings to the coalition across large Australian states, especially Queensland, have ensured he will remain prime minister.
In a triumphant speech Saturday night, Morrison said he had “always believed in miracles.”
”And tonight we’ve been delivered another one,” he told jubilant supporters in Sydney who chanted Morrison’s nickname “ScoMo.”
After losing an election which many analysts described as “unlosable,” Labor leader Bill Shorten conceded and announced he would be stepping down as head of the party.
“I’m disappointed for people who depend upon Labor, but I’m glad that we argued what was right, not what was easy,” Shorten told his supporters.
Shorten would have become Australia’s sixth prime minister in as many years. He said he would no longer lead Labor after six years at the helm.
The tight race raised the prospect of the coalition forming a minority government. The conservatives became a rare minority government after they dumped Malcolm Turnbull for Morrison in an internal power struggle last August. The government then lost two seats and its single-seat majority as part of the bloodletting that followed.
Morrison, a 51-year-old former tourism marketer, said he had closed Labor’s lead in opinion polls during the five-week campaign and predicted a close result.
Morrison promised lower taxes and better economic management than Labor.
Both major parties promised that whoever wins the election will remain prime minister until he next faces the voters’ judgment. The parties have changed their rules to make the process of replacing a prime minister more difficult for lawmakers.
During Labor’s last six years in office, the party replaced Prime Minister Kevin Rudd with his deputy Julia Gillard, then dumped her for Rudd.