Australia Election Results: Prime Minister Albanese Wins 2nd Term

Voters in Australia were casting their ballots in a general election on Saturday, the third major U.S. ally after Germany and Canada to vote in a global economic and political landscape upended by the second Trump administration.

The two men vying to lead Australia — Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, of the center-left Labor Party, and opposition leader Peter Dutton, of the conservative coalition — agree that the country finds itself in the most challenging environment in a generation. It is heavily dependent on the United States for its security, but derives much of its prosperity from trade with China, which is exerting its military ambitions closer and closer to Australia’s shores.

However, most pressing for voters is a persistent cost-of-living crisis and worsening housing affordability that has further dampened the long-held optimism that Australia is a recession-proof country blessed with rich resources, high wages and stable, functioning government.

“Everything costs so much,” said Judy Pula, a registered nurse and mother of two who was voting in the Sydney suburb of Liverpool during a break in her shift. Ms. Pula, 29, said she had voted for Labor in the past but this time opted for the Australian Greens. “I feel like a new leader would be beneficial for us.”

Still, the most recent opinion polls have showed Mr. Albanese’s party headed for a second term with a majority of seats in the House of Representatives, a turnaround from earlier in the year, when the opposition was in the lead. Australia has a Westminister-style parliamentary system.

Here’s what to know about the election:

It’s the economy, mate

Mr. Dutton has gone to no fewer than 15 gas stations — The Guardian counted — on the campaign trail, playing up his party’s proposal to cut a tax to reduce payments at the pump. Mr. Albanese has again and again flashed his card for Medicare, Australia’s universal health care system, highlighting a promise to lower out-of-pocket costs.