Australian PM Morrison pulls off election ‘miracle’
SYDNEY: Australia’s ruling Coalition won a spectacular victory in a federal election yesterday after voters backed its economic record and roundly rejected Labor’s ambitious agenda to overhaul taxes and tackle climate change.
Despite opinion surveys consistently showing that the LiberalNational Coalition was set to lose, Prime Minister Scott Morrison pulled off the upset with a disciplined campaign that squarely focused on the economy and on voter concerns about Labor leader Bill Shorten.
Appearing jubilant alongside his wife and two daughters, Morrison, a devout Christian, announced victory by declaring: “I have always believed in miracles.”
“Tonight is not about me... Tonight is about every single Australian who depends on their Government to put them first.”
With 71 per cent of the vote counted Friday night, it was not clear whether the Coalition would win a narrow majority or would be forced to depend on the backing of independent MPs.
ABC News predicted that the Coalition had won 74 seats in the 151-member Lower House, compared with 65 for Labor. Another five were won by independents, one by the Greens, and six were too close to call.
Morrison, 51, has only been Prime Minister since August after an internal Liberal party coup led to the toppling of Malcolm Turnbull.
A social conservative, Morrison presented himself during the campaign as an ordinary, sports-loving unpretentious father whose main priority was the economy and jobs.
Shorten, a former union leader who has led Labor since 2013, phoned Morrison to concede defeat and then announced that he would stand aside as Opposition leader. He urged the country to finally a adopt a plan to tackle climate change.