CANBERRA, May 23 (AP): Australia’s new prime minister was sworn in on Monday and flew to Tokyo for a summit with President Joe Biden while vote counting continued to determine whether he will control a majority in a Parliament that is demanding tougher action on climate change.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor Party ousted predecessor Scott Morrison’s conservative coalition at Saturday’s election. The coalition had been in power under three prime ministers for nine years.
“I want to lead a government that has the same sentiment of optimism and hope that I think defines the Australian people,” Albanese said in his hometown of Sydney before flying to the national capital Canberra to be sworn in.
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Albanese, who describes himself as the first ever candidate for the office of prime minister with a “non-Anglo Celtic name,” and Malaysian-born Penny Wong, Australia’s first foreign minister to be born overseas, were sworn into office by Governor-General David Hurley before the pair flew to Tokyo for a security summit on Tuesday with Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“We will return (from Japan) on Wednesday and set about implementing our agenda, our agenda that received the endorsement of the Australian people,” Albanese said, highlighting items such as climate change, affordable child care and strengthening Medicare.
Biden rang Albanese to congratulate him on his election win and express the president’s wish to make the countries’ alliance stronger, the White House said.
Albanese described their conversation as “very fruitful and positive.”
Morrison’s decision to resign as prime minister during the early vote counting enabled Hurley, who represents Australia’s head of state, British monarch Queen Elizabeth II, to appoint his replacement without evidence that Albanese can control a majority of seats in parliament’s lower chamber where governments are formed.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles was also sworn in and will act as prime minister while Albanese is in Japan. Katy Gallagher and Jim Chalmers were sworn into economic ministries.
Labor appears assured of 75 seats, one short of the majority in the 151-seat House of Representatives needed to form an administration. The conservative coalition was on track for 58, unaligned lawmakers 12 and six seats were too close to call, the Australian Electoral Commission said.
Albanese said he had the support of five unaligned lawmakers to back his administration if Labor falls short of a majority government.
A vote of no-confidence in Labor in the house could result in the unlikely outcome of the conservative Liberal Party cobbling together a minority administration. If no party was able to govern, another election would be held, an outcome that has never happened in the 121 years of Australia’s federation.
“I’m hopeful that we will receive a majority of members of the House of Representatives. At this stage that looks most likely but of course counting continues,” Albanese said. “But my expectation is that we have a majority.”
Australia’s two major parties, Labor and the Liberal Party, bled votes to independents and fringe parties in Saturday’s election, continuing a trend of dissatisfaction with the political establishment.
