Australia kicks off tight race to general election amid threat of 'hung parliament', will PM Albanese make history?

On March 28, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese officially announced that the general election of this Oceanian country will be held on May 3.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra on March 28, announcing the election date. (Source: AFP)

The Guardian newspaper reported that on the morning of March 28, Prime Minister Albanese met with Governor-General Sam Mostyn to dissolve the 47th Parliament, officially launching the five-week race to the election and the "campaign" to form the next government .

Mr Albanese promised the election would give voters a choice between Labor's plan to "keep building" and opposition leader Peter Dutton's "promise of cuts".

Policy and commitment

In a speech at Parliament House in Canberra, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stressed that the Labor Party was best placed to lead the country through “uncertain times”, as he bids to become the first prime minister since John Howard to win a second term.

Mr Albanese highlighted the Labor government's achievements, including supporting the Medicare health payments system, cutting student debt and implementing tax cuts in the March 25 budget, as campaign highlights.

He affirmed that over the past three years, despite many global challenges, the government has chosen to act “the Australian way” – supporting people with the pressure of living costs while building a foundation for the future. Now the economy is gradually recovering.

The leader also warned of the risk of the country “returning to past failures” if the opposition wins power, citing the potential for tax rises and service cuts under Liberal leader Peter Dutton’s plans.

Meanwhile, Mr Dutton criticised Prime Minister Albanese for repeatedly sending negative messages that were "personal attacks", saying that if the Labor government "really delivered, he would talk about his plans".

The Liberal leader framed the coalition's election campaign around the questions: "Australians need to ask themselves: is your life better today than it was three years ago? Is our country better today?"

Mr Dutton also defended his plan to cut 41,000 jobs but did not provide details of who would be made redundant or by what means, whether it would be voluntary redundancy, compensation or natural redundancy.

On the tax issue, the opposition leader also criticised Prime Minister Albanese's plan as not going far enough to help people in the cost of living crisis, while promising to cut petrol tax in half for 12 months and increase gas supplies to reduce prices.

Ability to form a government

In the 2022 general election, Labor won a majority of seats, ending nine years of rule by the Liberal-National coalition. Currently, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's party is in a tight race with the opposition led by Peter Dutton, according to opinion polls.

Labor currently holds 78 seats in the House of Representatives, just two more than the minimum majority. Despite predictions of a hung parliament, Mr Albanese remains confident of his government's victory.

Meanwhile, Mr Dutton hopes to return the Liberal-National coalition to power after a crushing defeat three years ago.

Greens leader Adam Bandt is also hoping to pick up more seats, despite the party's recent poor results in state, territory and local council elections.

This election will be a tight race between the major parties, with the important participation of independent candidates and the Green Party amid the increasing risk of a hung Parliament.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/australia-khoi-dong-cuoc-dua-gay-can-toi-tong-tuyen-cu-giua-du-bao-nguy-co-quoc-hoi-tréo-thu-tuong-albanese-co-lam-nen-lich-su-309105.html