The Australian government’s debt forgiveness pledge featured strongly among the cost of-living measures it has credited for its resounding victory in the 3 May election.
The governing Labor Party has increased its majority while the Liberal-National party opposition lost a swathe of sitting members, including its leader.
Like Canadian conservative leader Pierre Poilievre five days earlier, Peter Dutton lost his seat in a campaign overshadowed by external events. Pollsters had tipped a Labor victory, reasoning that voters would seek the stability of incumbency amid the global uncertainty of President Trump’s trade war.
But analysts said the Trump effect should not be overestimated in a poll that appeared likely to consign the…
