Australia swears in new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese while votes are still being counted
Australian voters elected to change governments in national elections on Saturday, replacing the center-right Liberal Party with the center-left Labor Party after nine years, and they got their new government less than 48 hours later. Governor-General David Hurley swore in Labor leader Anthony Albanese as Australia's 31st prime minister on Monday, while votes are still being counted to determine if Albanese's party will have a majority in Parliament or need to cobble together a coalition government.
Hurley also swore in four members of Albanese's Cabinet: Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, and economy ministers Katy Gallagher and Jim Chalmers. Wong, born in Malaysia, is the first foreign-born Australian foreign minister; she will travel with Albanese to Tokyo to meet with President Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi — the leaders of the so-called Quad nations. Marles will serve as acting prime minister while Albanese is overseas.
With the votes counted so far, Labor has 72 seats, short of a majority in the 151-seat House of Representatives, while the Liberals and their coalition partners won 58 seats. Six races are too close to call, The Associated Press reports. Both major parties lost voters to the Greens, independents, and other smaller parties. Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison's decision to resign before the vote count was complete allows Albanese to represent Australia at Tuesday's Quad summit, where China's expansion in the Indo-Pacific region is expected to be the main topic.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Menendez convicted of bribery, fraud, and extortion
Speed Read The New Jersey Democratic Senator was found guilty in a federal corruption trial
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Venezuela election: first vote in a decade offers hope to poverty-stricken nation
The Explainer Nicolás Maduro agreed to 'free and fair' vote but poor polling and threat of prosecution pushes disputed leader to desperate methods
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Florida judge dismisses Trump documents case
Speed Read Judge Aileen Cannon ruled that special counsel Jack Smith was improperly appointed
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Hamas says military chief survived Israeli strike
Speed Read An Israeli bombing failed to hit its intended target, military commander Mohammed Deif, but killed at least 90 Palestinians
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
First Israeli report on Oct. 7 finds 'severe mistakes and errors' in IDF response
Speed Reads Israeli military admits failures in response to deadly Hamas attack that triggered Gaza war
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'The studio has run out of marquee heroes'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published