Radio Brisvaani
Australia voted for a new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese—Member for Grayndler in New South Wales, since 1996. “Albo’s” substantial rise in the party eventuated under Kevin Rudd’s Kevin07 dispensation in which he was given a ministerial position. In the 2010 hung parliament Albanese was also instrumental in securing the support of the independent members when the government was shy of the majority mark. After the drubbing in the 2013 elections, when the Australia Labour Party chose Bill Shorten over him as the leader, he secured the deputy prime minister position. Subsequently, following the shock defeat of the ALP in the 2019 elections, when Shorten resigned from leadership, Albanese became the party leader.
Albanese had taken charge of the party in very tough times in 2019, and needed to unite the factions within the party, restore public and business confidence in Labor’s policies and values, and most of all consolidate his own authority as a leader— and he has done fairly well on these counts. The jury may differ over his leadership style, articulation and capabilities, but his political resume certainly testifies his credentials as a peace/deal-maker within the Labor caucus and in the parliament. Above all, he possesses one key virtue to be a successful political leader—patience. Come 2022, biding his time he backed his political convictions and after the initial gaffes in the media, brick-by-brick built his prime ministerial image in the public. He championed change in the way politics was conducted, inclusiveness in decision-making, compassion for the indigenous Australians and hope for the jobless. His promise to create a national anti-corruption commission is a big tick with the teals and also the Australian public.
His win was also aided by a strong anti-incumbency over rape and sexual misconduct, rising cost of living, fuel, electricity and essential commodities; stagnating wages, waning climate commitments and Scott Morrison’s delayed response in securing covid vaccines and handling natural disasters. Most recently, ScoMo’s flip-flop response in dealing with the Queensland floods gave the ALP leadership in Queensland the much-needed ammunition to target the federal government. Scott Morrison’s mishandling of the Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations, and assault allegations against his two parliamentary colleagues Christian Porter and Alan Tudge especially inflicted a severe beating to the party’s and his own public image, and last-ditch effort to announce Marise Payne as the “Prime Minister for Women” proved futile in winning back the women voters.
Albanese is expecting to get a majority to escape dependence on teals (climate change activists) and the Greens. He needs space to manage the expectations of the resource industry in pursuing “renewable energy superpower” status for Australia. In the post-pandemic recovery the flagship resource sector is the key for GDP growth which the IMF has raised to 4.2% in its latest forecast. The resource industry contends that more mines, minerals and metals are needed to build a modern society and boost economic growth and decoding this remains a challenging conundrum for the Albanese government.
Bipartisanship in Canberra means Australia’s India policy will continue uninterrupted. ALP deserves the credit for several key initiatives with India such as restoring uranium supplies, lobbying for a waiver from the Nuclear Supplies Group and signing the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. It has also backed the latter in difficult situations. In the wake of the Pulwama attack, the new Foreign Minister Penelope Wong, then the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate had issued the party statement condemning the “atrocious terrorist attack against security personnel in Jammu and Kashmir”. In April, Anthony Albanese, as the Leader of the Opposition had also welcomed the “deepening of the ties” and signing of the Australia India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI-ECTA). In 2017, Albanese led a Parliamentary Delegation to India to deepen parliamentary ties, people-to-people relations and understand the social, economic, governance and political issues. The insights gained will prove useful now.
As Anthony Albanese meets his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in Tokyo at the Quad summit, both draw comfort from the fact that their strategic and bilateral interests cannot be seen in isolation. This means they can keep an eye on what happens between and around them, simultaneously.
