Anthony Albanese’s landslide election victory has made headlines around the world, with many international outlets echoing a similar message as they compared Peter Dutton to Donald Trump.
‘Dutton was seen by many as Australia’s Trump,’ the BBC’s Tiffany Turnbull wrote on Sunday.
‘(It) appeared to go down badly with voters, despite his attempts to shake off comparisons made between his policies on immigration, public sector cuts and China, and the Trump administration.’
CNN gave a similar analysis as it compared Mr Dutton’s policy proposals and those of Trump.
‘Observers will be examining the results for signs of blowback against Australia’s conservative candidates from US President Trump’s whirlwind 100 days in office – after comparisons were drawn between Dutton’s policy offerings and those of the US leader,’ the US broadcaster wrote.
‘Another center-left prime minister, Mark Carney of Canada – which like Australia is a G20 nation, as well as US ally – recently scored an election win widely chalked up to anti-Trump sentiment.’
The Washington Post said Mr Dutton had ‘Trumpian tendencies’.
‘Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made a major comeback after trailing in polls, while conservative leader Peter Dutton, hurt by Trumpian tendencies, lost his seat,’ it wrote.
Anthony Albanese celebrates a historic landslide victory with his fiancee Jodie Haydon
Peter Dutton suffers a crushing defeat, losing his own seat amid comparisons to Donald Trump
The New York Times pointed to Trump’s trade war as a reason for Australia’s decision.
‘A superpower loomed large as Australians headed to the polls. It wielded trade barriers as a means of political coercion, imperiling Australia’s export-dependent economy,’ the news outlet wrote.
‘Three years ago that country was China, which had imposed punishing restrictions on many Australian exports, sent spy ships lurking near Australia’s west coast and struck an alarming military pact with a regional neighbor, the Solomon Islands.
‘This time, as Australians cast ballots on Saturday, that external factor is the United States and President Trump.’
Throughout the election campaign, Labor repeatedly tried to link the Coalition to the Trump administration, comparing Mr Dutton’s vow to slash the public service with what is happening in the US under the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which was previously led by billionaire Elon Musk.
In January, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians Jacinta Nampijinpa Price was also given the portfolio of ‘government efficiency’, echoing the name of the new US department.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers referred to the Opposition Leader as ‘DOGE-y Dutton’ after he pledged to axe 41,000 jobs in the public sector if he won power.
Among the significant wins for Labor was Mr Dutton’s electorate of Dickson, as he became the first Opposition Leader to lose his seat at an election.
Global media outlets draw sharp comparisons between Dutton and former US president Donald Trump
With 70 per cent of the vote counted, Labor has so far won 85 seats with the Coalition going backwards to sit on 35 seats, while 19 seats remain in doubt.
Labor saw large swings across multiple states, booting the Coalition out of all seats in Tasmania and Adelaide, while making significant gains in Opposition heartland in Queensland.
Labor national president Wayne Swan said the victory was one of the party’s most resounding.
‘This is certainly one for the history books, we haven’t seen anything like this, possibly since 1993, if ever,’ he told ABC Radio on Sunday.
‘This is an incredibly substantial achievement for a political leader in the circumstances in which we found ourselves.’
Labor senator Don Farrell said Mr Albanese had run a flawless election campaign.
‘(Voters) saw that the prime minister had a vision for this country, he was looking forward, whereas the Liberals were looking backwards,’ he told Sky News.
‘People have accepted that we need to look forward when we need to look to the future.’
