Election winner Albanese: Australia’s new prime minister sworn in

Status: 05/23/2022 02:05 am

Two days after his election victory, the Australian Labor leader Albanese took over the government. He will meet US President Joe Biden on Tuesday. However, all votes have not yet been counted.

Australian election winner Anthony Albanese has been sworn in as the country’s 31st Prime Minister. Just two days after the vote, the 59-year-old Labor chief took his oath of office today before Governor General David Hurley. Several ministers of the new cabinet were sworn in with him in Canberra, including the new Secretary of State, Penny Wong. However, the counting of the votes is still ongoing and it is still unclear whether Albanese will be able to govern with an absolute majority or whether it will be dependent on the votes of other parties.

Summit on Tuesday

The swearing-in took place so quickly because Albanese and Wong want to attend a summit meeting with US President Joe Biden and the heads of government from Japan and India tomorrow in Tokyo. At the so-called Quad Summit, the focus should be on striving for a free and open Indo-Pacific. The states are trying not to let China’s influence in the region continue to grow.

Around 17 million eligible voters were called on Saturday to vote for all 151 seats in the lower house and half of the 78 seats in the Senate. The right-wing conservative coalition led by former Prime Minister Scott Morrison suffered heavy losses. After years of repeated environmental disasters, it was criticized primarily for its climate policy.

source site