According to projections, Conservative Prime Minister Scott Morrison has suffered a defeat in the general election in Australia. According to the projections, the winner of the vote on Saturday is his challenger Anthony Albanese from the opposition Labor Party. The 59-year-old campaigned on climate issues, among other things, and announced measures to help people suffering from inflation.

Albanese is in a position to form a government as a result of the election result, the national television broadcaster ABC reported, citing projections after counting around half of the votes cast. However, it was initially unclear whether his Labor party would need coalition partners for a majority in parliament.

Around 17 million people were called upon to elect a new parliament. Many Australians hold Morrison responsible for the past three difficult years of crisis. These began in 2019, shortly after he took office, with huge fires in the east of the country that burned an area the size of Finland. As soon as the fires were out, the corona pandemic began. Then, in February of this year, flooding caused serious damage to Australia’s east coast.