Anthony Albanese elected Australia’s 31st PM

AUSTRALIA: Anthony Albanese led his Labor party to victory and ousted the conservatives from power in an election that analysts say has transformed Australia’s political landscape.

Shortly after incumbent Scott Morrison conceded defeat on Saturday, Albanese thanked voters for the “extraordinary honour” of becoming the nation’s 31st Prime Minister, and said he would work in Government to bring Australians together.

At the crest of this seismic shift is Prime Minister-elect Anthony Albanese himself, a Labor party politician with humble roots. Nicknamed ‘Albo’, he was born in 1963 and raised by a single mother on a disability pension. It was in 1996 that he was elected to the Federal Parliament as the representative of Grayndler, the area he grew up in. Since then, Albanese has spent much of his 26 years in politics in the opposition and only six in government.

Early in 2021, Albanese survived a car crash. He later told the media that the near-death experience changed his life. He overcame his injuries, shed a lot of weight and polished his image to position himself as a serious contender in the race for the top job.

It says a lot about our great country that a son of a single mom who was a disability pensioner, who grew up in public housing down the road in Camperdown can stand before you tonight as Australia’s Prime Minister,” he said in his election victory speech on Saturday.

“Every parent wants more for the next generation than they had. My mother dreamt of a better life for me. And I hope that my journey in life inspires Australians to reach for the stars,” he added.

However, this won’t be the 59-year-old’s first stint in the Prime Minister’s office. He had briefly served as acting PM in 2013 in the Labor Government led by two-time Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. – INDIA TODAY