While it remained unclear if Morrison's Liberal party and their rural-based National party partners would win enough seats to form a majority government, the leader of the main opposition Labor party conceded defeat shortly before midnight. The result was a monumental upset and a failure by pollsters, who had for months predicted a comfortable victory for Labor after six years in the opposition. "Despite the wider fragmentation of the right in Australia, they have snatched a seeming win," he told AFP, calling the coalition victory "extraordinary and surprising". "Unbelievable," gushed Anthony Ching at the Liberal party headquarters. In traditionally more conservative rural areas, climate-hit farmers are increasingly demanding action, while in several rich suburbs, a generational shift has seen eco-minded candidates running Liberal party luminaries close.

Source: The Nation Bangkok May 18, 2019 14:37 UTC