The Australian opposition leader likened to Donald Trump for apeing his policies has lost his seat as the incumbent Labor government secures a landslide win.
Peter Dutton has suffered more than a 10 per cent swing against him to Labor rival Ali France, who has so far claimed nearly 59 per cent of the vote under Australia’s two-party preferred system, with election analysts projecting the conservative leader’s ousting.
It comes as Australia’s centre-left prime minister Anthony Albanese secures a second term just days after Canada’s centrist Liberal Party, led by Mark Carney, retained government, in what will be seen as part of an international backlash against the Trump administration.
Earlier on Saturday, Coalition senator and campaign spokesman James Paterson conceded Trump’s unpopularity in Australia had definitely played a part.
“One factor I think we can all acknowledge and recognise is the Trump factor. It was devastating in Canada for the conservatives, where the conservative leader Pierre Poilievre lost 20 points over the course of a few months,” Mr Paterson, seen as a rising star in the Liberal and National party coalition, told the ABC.
“I think it has been a factor here, just how big a factor will be determined in a few hours’ time, but I think it’s been significant.”
Mr Dutton, who took the reins of the Coalition after the former conservative prime minister Scott Morrison’s 2022 defeat, is known for his projected hardman persona, aggressive stance on immigration, and attacks on what he describes as left-wing media bias as well as “woke” school teachers and university lecturers.
“I love this country and have fought hard for it, we have been defined by our opponents in this election which is not a true story of who we are,” he said in his concession speech.
Mr Dutton had been considered the country’s likely next prime minister early in the campaign as Labor was besieged by a negative media cycle dominated by high living costs.
However, voter sentiment noticeably shifted in recent weeks as Labor accused Mr Dutton of following Trump’s playbook, with April polling showing Trump was turning Australian voters away from the Coalition.
In March, Mr Albanese accused Mr Dutton of copying Trump’s attack on working from home arrangements after the opposition leader vowed to stop public servants’ ability to work remotely, following Trump’s clampdown on the Covid-era practice.
“We don’t have to adopt all of America’s policies,” the prime minister told ABC radio.
Mr Dutton also came under fire after Northern Territory Coalition senator and conservative firebrand Jacinta Nampijinpa Price vowed to “make Australia great again” in a direct mimic of the Trump catchphrase.
Ahead of Mr Albanese’s victory address, foreign minister Penny Wong described Australia as a “nation of courage and kindness” in a dig at the United States, and described the prime minister as “a man of courage, and a man of compassion”.
