Labor party returns to power in Australia after 9 years

Anthony Albanese and his opposition Labor Party ended nine years of conservative government in Australia on Saturday, as Prime Minister Scott Morrison conceded defeat of the coalition he led, the New York Times reported.

A handful of races were still too close to call, but early results showed Labor winning at least 72 seats of the 76 needed to form a government. Alliances with independent and minor-party victors would give it a majority if it does not reach 76 seats by itself.

The Labor victory, on a campaign promising “renewal not revolution,” makes Albanese the fourth Labor leader to win the government from the opposition since World War II. After a race that became a referendum on Mr. Morrison and his combative style — in the final days he acknowledged that he could be “a bit of a bulldozer” and promised to change.

KI/PR