Scott Morrison’s ‘miracle’ election win has been cheered by US conservatives and compared to Donald Trump’s surprise 2016 presidential win.
The Coalition won despite 55 Newspolls in a row predicting they would lose – echoing how the US president rose to power against pollsters’ predictions in 2016.
The Liberal campaign had emphasized the cost of Labor’s climate change policies – which included reducing carbon emissions by 45 percent by 2030.
And while Labor campaigned against the controversial Adani mine, the Coalition focused on the jobs boost of the new development.
On Saturday night, former Australian Prime Minister John Howard said Labor’s stance on climate had cost them the election.
After Bill Shorten failed to secure votes in Queensland the Liberal Party elder said Labor did not reassure voters about job security.
‘When they saw a Labor Party prepared to destroy jobs in the name of climate ideology in relation to the Adani mine, they said: “That’s not for Queensland”‘, he said.
On Sunday morning American TV news channel Fox News labeled Mr. Morrison’s win as ‘a stunning victory’.
American political activist Pamela Geller meanwhile trumpeted ‘the people are taking back their countries from the totalitarian left’.
‘SHOCKING Australia Election Results: Australia’s Conservative Party Seizes Stunning Win: The Trump effect. Polls were wrong…. again,’ Ms. Geller, founder of The Geller Report and president of Stop Islamisation of America, wrote on Twitter.
US news site Axios told readers the election result indicates ‘Australia will continue to closely resemble the Trump administration’s positioning on climate change’.
‘Climate advocates had said this election would be a referendum on the current leadership’s positions on climate change,’ Ms. Harder wrote.
‘The results suggest that either voter don’t care as much about the issue compared to others or they prefer less aggressive measures, as the current leadership is pursuing.’
The New York Times described how ‘the conservative victory also adds Australia to a growing list of countries that have shifted rightward through the politics of grievance, including Brazil, Hungary, and Italy.
‘Mr. Morrison’s pitch mixed smiles and scaremongering, warning older voters and rural voters in particular that a government of the left would leave them behind and favor condescending elites.’
Read rest at Daily Mail
