Australia recently held its parliamentary election. Incumbent Prime Minister Scott Morrison is a member of the Liberal Party, which is actually Australia's biggest conservative party. He leads a long-standing coalition with the National Party.
The coalition's main opposition is the Labor Party. The popular opinion going into the election was that it was Labor's to lose. However, things have played out in a different way.
Morrison and the Coalition to remain in power
Morrison appears to have led his team to what the BBC calls a 'shock majority.' The Coalition appears to have not only won more seats than expected but enough to form an outright majority. Granted, the majority would be narrow, but a majority nonetheless. In addition, the National Review reports that Morrison also has the support of independent members of parliament.
The Coalition's victory has largely been attributed to 'blue collar' voters. It appears that the Labor Party's proposal of raising taxes didn't win them much support with working-class citizens.
Other key issues in the campaign included climate change and healthcare.
Australian politics have gained a reputation for being very dramatic. Morrison has been prime minister since 2018. His previous roles include treasurer, social services minister and immigration minister. He succeeded Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who was ousted by his party. Turnbull had been prime minister since 2015 when he ousted Prime Minister Tony Abbott. Abbott had defeated Turnbull for the leader of the party while in opposition. And the Labor Party has also had its share of drama as well.
Turnbull resigned from Parliament after losing his spots as prime minister and leader of the Liberal Party. In the resulting by-election, the Liberals lost the seat to independent candidate Kerryn Phelps.
Phelps is an active Sydney city councilor and former deputy lord mayor of the city. However, with this election, the Liberals won it back with Dave Sharma, a former diplomat.
Abbott remained in Parliament after his tenure as prime minister. He was re-elected to his seat in 2016. This time around, however, he lost to independent candidate Zali Steggall. Steggall is an Olympic bronze medalist and former world champion alpine skier. Her primary campaign issue was focusing on climate change.
Labor Party to choose a new leader
Leader of the opposition and Labor Party, Bill Shorten has opted to step down. He has announced his intentions to remain in Parliament, however. Prior to becoming a leader, he had held multiple Cabinet positions.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Anthony Albanese quickly became the first to announce his candidacy to succeed Shorten. More candidates are expected to follow suit. Speculation has begun on a number of possibilities as to who else could run. They include Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen, Shadow Defense Minister Richard Marles, and Shadow Finance Minister Jim Chalmers. Former prominent Cabinet members Joel Fitzgibbon and Tony Burke have also been mentioned.