In a result that confounded pundits, polls and punters, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison looks set to remain in office after his Liberal-National coalition prevailed in national elections held over the weekend. The Australian electorate opted for stability in Canberra and the center-right government's policies will ensure that Japan has a close and predictable diplomatic and security partner.
The Liberal-led coalition has been in power in Canberra since March 2013, but it has been a tumultuous period, with the Liberal Party ousting two prime ministers before their three-year terms ended. The infighting brought Morrison to power last August, after an especially bloody battle, but it also was thought to have alienated voters.
Morrison led a minority government, and the loss of senior members, defeats in by-elections and opinion polls that showed deteriorating public support for the coalition yielded widespread anticipation of a Labor victory in Saturday's ballot. Every opinion poll showed the government trailing Labor. At one betting agency, 70 percent of wagers favored Labor's return to power after six years in opposition; another gambling website began to pay off Labor bets two days before the election. The death of Bob Hawke, prime minister from 1983 to 1991, considered the most successful Labor politician in Australian history, just two days before the ballot was thought to have provided a final push to return his party to power.