Conservatives battle to maintain power as Australians go to polls

Bloomberg News

CANBERRA, Australia — Prime Minister Scott Morrison is fighting to save his conservative government in Australia’s election Saturday, with polls showing the left-leaning Labor party poised to win office.

More than 16 million Australians are casting votes, with 151 lower house seats and 40 in the Senate up for grabs. While Mr. Morrison, 51, has closed down Labor’s lead during the five-week campaign with his promise of sweeping tax cuts and a record of sound economic management, a third term in office for his Liberal-National coalition may be out of reach.

Labor leader Bill Shorten, 52, has wooed voters with a comprehensive plan to tackle climate change. He’s also promising to redistribute wealth in a nation where many people feel left behind despite a world-beating run of nearly 28 years of unbroken economic growth. The ballots close at 6 p.m. local time, and a winner may be declared as early as Saturday night.

“While its lead is narrow, it would be a big surprise if Labor doesn’t win power,” said Martin Drum, a senior political lecturer at Notre Dame University in Perth. “Many oppositions go into a campaign with a small-target strategy, but Shorten has taken a riskier approach aimed at boosting spending on the lower and middle classes, and it looks to have paid off.”

Should Labor win, it will inherit an economy showing signs of strain amid record household debt, a falling property market and stagnant wages. Adding to the challenges, Australia must navigate the intensifying trade war between the U.S., its most important ally, and China, its biggest trading partner.

With a Newspoll earlier this week putting Labor just two points ahead of the coalition, the contest may be won or lost in a handful of seats held by a thin margin.

The battle in those districts is complicated by the growing support for populist, single-issue parties, who are tapping into voter disaffection after a chaotic decade of infighting in both the mainstream parties led to six changes of prime minister since 2007.

Independents are among the election’s 1,514 candidates. They could hold the balance of power in the Senate, making the task of legislating policy difficult for either a Morrison- or Shorten-led government.