After shock win, Australia PM vows to go back to work

SYDNEY: A jubilant Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison vowed on Sunday to get straight back to work after a shock election victory by his Conservative government that has left bewildered voters wondering how they were taken by surprise.

The opposition Labour Party began another bout of post-election soul searching while starting the task of finding a new leader, after Bill Shorten stepped down following an emphatic defeat on Saturday in a poll many had seen as unlosable for his party.

Centre-left Labour, which has governed Australia for only 38 of its 118 years as a federation, was rated an overwhelming favourite, both in opinion polls and with odds-makers, to topple the conservative Liberal-National coalition government after its six years in power. Instead, Morrison - who became prime minister only last August when a contentious internal party vote dumped Malcolm Turnbull as its leader swept the coalition to victory with what is likely to be an increased representation in parliament.

The result is much the same as the last election, which delivered the government a single-seat majority in 2016. Since then, public expectations have taken a roller coaster ride based on the media’s reporting of polls.

Opinion polling has been a factor in conservative and Labour governments ousting four of their own prime ministers in the past decade, most recently elevating Morrison to PM. AP