Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was returned to power in an election Saturday, the latest left-leaning leader to achieve a comeback victory as President Trump roils global markets and upends international affairs. Albanese’s Labor Party was projected to win at least 87 seats in the nation’s House of Representatives, defeating the conservative bloc of the Liberal and National parties, which was projected to win at least 40, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
The result was a decisive win for Albanese, whose party expanded its majority in the 150-seat chamber. Before the vote, polls showed Albanese leading, but not by much. “Our government will choose the Australian way, because we are proud of who we are,” Albanese told a cheering crowd at Labor headquarters. “We do not need to beg or borrow or copy from anywhere else.”
The election is the latest snapshot of how voters are reacting to a shifting world order as President Trump targets countries with tariffs, pivots toward Russia and uses harsh rhetoric about Washington’s traditional allies. Polls show voters in Australia, Canada, and the U.K. view Washington more unfavorably since Trump took office.
Earlier this week, Canadians gave the left-leaning Liberal Party a fourth term in office, even though the party was trailing badly in the polls at the start of the year. Canadians embraced the tough-talking approach of Prime Minister Mark Carney, a former central banker, while shying away from the conservative candidate, Pierre Poilievre, who was viewed as being too similar to Trump.
A similar dynamic has played out in Australia. Albanese was down in the polls at the start of the year, but as the election grew closer, the polls flipped. Albanese and his main conservative opponent, Peter Dutton, also sparred frequently over who could best negotiate with Trump.
Dutton, a former police officer and defense minister, seesawed between embracing policies with a Trump-like flair and distancing himself from Trump-style rhetoric. He backtracked or clarified proposals to end working from home and slash the government workforce, two initiatives that have been supported by Trump at home. Later in the campaign, Dutton leaned into culture-war issues, and said he opposed indigenous land acknowledgments at annual ceremonies meant to honor Australia’s war dead. He also unveiled plans to further boost Australia’s military spending, aligning himself with Trump’s demand that U.S. allies to spend more on their militaries. But the strategy backfired in a country where Trump is very unpopular. Dutton even lost his own parliamentary seat to the Labor candidate.
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