Conservative rule ends: Australians elect center-left prime minister

After nine years of center-right conservative government, Australian voters Saturday elected a new prime minister, Anthony Albanese, the center-left Labor Party leader.

Australians awoke on Sunday to a new prime minister in Anthony Albanese, the center-left Labor Party leader whose ascension to the nation’s top job from being raised in social housing by a single mother on a disability pension was said to reflect the country’s changed fabric.

After nine years of center-right conservative rule, Australian voters delivered a clear rebuke to Australia’s traditional two-party system, both to Labor and the conservative coalition led by the Liberal party’s outgoing Prime Minister Morrison. The major parties bled votes to fringe parties and independents, including in many seats considered Labor or coalition strongholds. Read more »