Australias Labor Party projected to win vote overshadowed by Trump effect

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s centre-left Labor Party was projected to win elections, broadcasters said on Saturday, in a comeback against once-resurgent conservatives powered by concerns about the influence of U.S.President Donald Trump.Supporters at Labor’s election party in Sydney cheered and hugged as the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Sky News Australia announced Labor was likely to form a government based on early results, though it was too early to tell if it would keep its overall majority.The ABC also projected that Peter Dutton, leader of the conservative Liberal party, would lose his seat of Dickson.The results coming in were “absolutely unbelievable,” Labor supporter Melinda Adderley, 54, said through her tears at the election party.The Australian Electoral Commission website published early results showing Labor ahead of a coalition of the Liberal and National parties, 55.94%-44% on a two-party preferred basis.Cost-of-living pressures and concerns about U.S.

President Donald Trump’s volatile policies had been among the top issues on voters’ minds, opinion polls had shown.“Trump had a massive effect in changing people’s perception of risk,” election analyst Tony Barry told the ABC.Opposition Liberal Party spokesman, Senator James Paterson, defended the conservative campaign, which he said was negatively affected by “the Trump factor.”“It was devastating in Canada for the conservatives … I think it has been a factor here, just how big a factor will be determined in a few hours’ time,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.The bounce in the centre-left Labor Party’s fortunes mirrors those of Canada’s Liberal Party, which returned to power this week in a come-from-behind victory after Trump’s tariffs and remarks on Canadian sovereignty sparked a backlash from voters.“If you sling enough mud, it will stick,” said Liberal Senator for the Northern Territory Jacinta Price, whose comme...