[Global Times Comprehensive Report] Australia elected the first non-Anglo-Saxon Prime Minister in 121 years — — Anthony albanese. The leader of the Australian Labor Party defeated Morrison’s Liberal Party-National Party ruling Coalition in the 2022 federal parliamentary election held on May 21st, and will be sworn in as the 31st Prime Minister of the country today (23rd). The Australian Broadcasting Corporation commented that in the past few years, after experiencing challenges such as COVID-19 epidemic, century wildfires and floods, deteriorating relations with China, high inflation and stagnant national income, the general election was actually a "vote for Morrison, not for albanese", and there was a general desire among the people to "change because of setbacks". On the 24th, the leaders of the four countries of the United States, Japan, Australia and India will hold a "Quad(Quadrilateral Security Dialogue)" face-to-face summit in Tokyo, which will be albanese’s diplomatic debut as prime minister. People pay close attention to whether the Australian Labor Party government under his leadership has the courage to "reset" its relations with China, which suffered heavy losses in Morrison’s era, or will it continue to be trapped in the "deputy police chief" in the Asia-Pacific region?
The French applauded the result of the Australian election
According to the Australian newspaper, the latest vote count as of the evening of the 22nd shows that the Labour Party has won 76 seats in the 151 seats in the House of Representatives, meeting the requirements for forming a separate cabinet. In addition, the Liberal Party-National Party Coalition holds 54 seats, the Green Party holds 4 seats, and the other seats are held by small parties and independents. At present, there are still five seats whose ownership is unclear, and we need to wait for the statistical results of the postal ballot.
Australian allies have congratulated. The White House website released a press release on the 22nd, saying that US President Biden reiterated his firm commitment to the US-Australia alliance with albanese on the same day, and thanked albanese for his commitment to the US-Australia alliance during the election campaign. New Zealand Prime Minister Aden, British Prime Minister Johnson, Indian Prime Minister Modi and leaders of some Pacific island countries also expressed their congratulations at the first time. According to the British "Guardian" reported on the 22nd, Fiji Prime Minister bainimarama congratulated albanese, saying: "Among your numerous commitments to support the Pacific region, the most popular one is the plan to put climate issues first." Solomon Islands Prime Minister Sogavare also sent a letter to albanese, expressing "sincere congratulations" on his victory. The report said that the security agreement between this Pacific country and China was one of the main points of contention in the Australian election.
Just a few hours after Morrison admitted losing the election, former French Foreign Minister Ledrien attacked Morrison. According to the French newspaper le figaro, Ledrien, who was holding a handover ceremony with the new French foreign minister, said that "in France, people are also happy with the result", which triggered laughter from the people present. Ledrien also said that what Morrison had done to France was "too bold and shameless" and "it was a lack of ability". Australia’s Brisbane Times reported on the 22nd that the French politician’s statement showed that the nerves between the two governments were still very tense after Australia controversially terminated the submarine contract worth $90 billion with France. Le Drian also expressed the hope that in the future, France and Australia can re-establish a true and mutual trust relationship.
The Canberra Times said on the 22nd that the winner of the general election "has little time to celebrate" and the front is full of major events and "minefields". It is reported that after Australian Governor Hurley completes the appointment procedure on Sunday, albanese and his core team members will be sworn in on 23rd to attend the QUAD summit in Japan on 24th. Albanese told the media on 22nd that attending the QUAD summit "is an absolute priority for Australia". Japanese Prime Minister kishida fumio congratulated albanese on the 22nd and said he was looking forward to meeting him in Tokyo. Domestically, faced with the huge fiscal deficit and high inflationary pressure, the new government is expected to issue a budget in October this year and hold a summit on employment within 100 days of taking office. At the same time, issues such as climate change, indigenous rights and interests, post-epidemic reconstruction and affordable housing prices are also imminent. At the same time, the Canberra Times stressed that the new government will also face the task of improving political relations with China, its largest trading partner. It is no exaggeration to say that "the next government will start to operate today".
Public opinion abandoned Morrison
The French newspaper le figaro reported Morrison’s defeat with the title "In Australia, the opposition Labor Party ousted the Conservative Party". Everyone from former French Foreign Minister Ledrien to supporters of tennis star Djokovic welcomed Morrison’s defeat to albanese with rapture. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) described the failure of the Liberal Party-National Party Alliance in this general election as "destroyed and shattered". In the new distribution of parliamentary power, the Liberal Party-National Party Alliance is at an obvious disadvantage, and Freiden Berg, the "second person" of the Liberal Party and finance minister, can’t keep his parliamentary seat.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) said on the 22nd that it was obvious from the general election that many voters did not like Morrison, and his "trustworthy family man image" had been eroded in the past three years. He is always absent when natural disasters happen. In the flood-stricken area, instead of providing assistance first, he told people that "the disaster area is resilient and will start again"; When the country was hit by a summer forest fire and hundreds of families were forced to abandon their homes and flee, there were photos of Morrison on vacation in Hawaii in the media.
The New York Times said on the 22nd that after four years in power, Morrison found that he was judged "not by his potential, but by his record" and that "the dislike of the incumbent made voters give the Labour Party an obvious victory". Lunsford, a 74-year-old voter in West Sydney, said: "They are still the same, the same — — We need a broom to get there. " Black, a retired chemical engineer, told The New York Times that Morrison was "like a bad boyfriend — — He said that if you choose me again, I will change. "
Mandel, a 41-year-old Italian restaurant chef, told The New York Times reporters when he went to the polling station in the western suburbs of Sydney to vote. In the past, he supported the Liberal Party, "not this time" because he had to support two children, and his and his wife’s wages had not risen for many years, and "the cost of living has gone up wildly". Mandel said, "You can only take a bag of things from the supermarket with 100 Australian dollars for shopping." He said that this time he voted for the Labour Party. The 51-year-old Chinese boss surnamed Huang owns a restaurant and a sporting goods store. He said that he used to be a voter of the Liberal Party, but this time he "broke up" with the party because the relationship between Australia and China deteriorated, which hurt his business.
Where will Australia-China relations go?
The British "Dialogue" magazine said on the 21st that albanese’s coming to power means that Australia-China relations may improve. According to the article, some practices of Morrison’s government are one of the reasons for the bad bilateral relations. In March this year, "after the China air crash, the Australian government didn’t even send a condolence statement, which is the bottom of Australia-China relations". According to the article, while "all other countries" in the Asia-Pacific region are trying to maintain relations with Beijing in a more constructive manner, "Australia has lost opportunities".
However, Bloomberg News reported on the 22nd that the Labor Party led by albanese had turned to take a tougher stance towards China before the general election. In a campaign debate on May 8, he said: "the Communist Party of China (CPC) has changed. It is more forward-looking and tougher. This means that Australia must of course respond. "
On the whole, the new Australian government is expected to continue to take a tough stance on China, the Labour Party also said during the election campaign that there will be no major changes on the South China Sea and Taiwan Province, and albanese also said that the "first pillar" of his foreign policy will be the alliance with the United States. The report also quoted Zhou Fangyin, dean of the School of International Studies at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, as saying that the new government’s attitude toward China may not be as tough as that of its predecessor, because it needs to stimulate the economy: "If albanese is smart enough, it will minimize its provocation against China."
Zhou Fangyin told the Global Times reporter on the 22nd that the Labour Party’s coming to power provided at least an opportunity to improve Sino-Australian relations, because it did not need to maintain the so-called "continuity of China policy". There is no contradiction in principle and structure between China and Australia, and the so-called "problems" often have American factors behind them. China has nothing that can "threaten" Australia. Zhou Fangyin said that our influence on the Pacific island countries is indeed rising, which makes Australia feel "uncomfortable", but this is because it has always felt that "South Pacific is its sphere of influence", and those island countries do not recognize this.
The Times of India reported on the 22nd that an Indian source who used to be a diplomat in Australia said that the relaxation of relations between Australia and China could not be ruled out, which was "something that India and QUAD should be vigilant about". He said that although albanese is expected to reaffirm Australia’s commitment to QUAD at the QUAD Summit, "the Labour Party has always been soft on China". People still remember that in 2018, the Labor Party Government of Victoria, Australia signed a memorandum of understanding with China to join the "Belt and Road" cooperation, which was eventually abolished by the Morrison government.
[Global Times correspondent in Australia Daqiao Global Times correspondent in France Liu Lingling Global Times reporter Zhang Tingge Ren Zhong]
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