The political comeback of incoming US President Donald Trump has given major parties in Australia pause for thought ahead of the federal election.
With cost-of-living concerns and economic woes driving votes towards the Republicans, some within the coalition believe a similar strategy will pay off when Australian voters head to the polls.
But Prime Minister Anthony Albanese insists the government was on the right track to help hip-pocket concerns, downplaying calls for Labor to change its election approach after results in the US saw Mr Trump return.
“We’re in difficult global economic times. Interest rates are higher in the United States, New Zealand, the UK than they are here. This has been a global inflationary impact,” he told reporters on Thursday.
“My government’s been determined to deal with that in a way that’s practical, to deal with it in a way where we emphasise … an economy that works for people, not the other way around.”
The next federal election needs to be held by May.
Incumbent governments in western countries have faced difficulty in their re-election bids in recent years, following from levels of high inflation and cost-of-living challenges.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said he was confident of results in the US being replicated.
“When (voters) see a government that is more interested in pronouns than they are people, it starts to become a real problem,” he told Sydney radio station 2GB.
“If you can’t pay your mortgage and you can’t pay your electricity bill and there’s uncertainty at work … and you hear the government talking about the voice and all of these sorts of issues, well you get angry and you respond.
“That has happened in the United States and I think there’s a big likelihood that it happens here in Australia as well.”
Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said it would be no surprise if Mr Dutton borrows from the Trump playbook.
“Dutton’s approach will be to project himself as a Trump, like strong man and present Albanese, as he’s seeking to do, as weak,” he told ABC Radio.
“He will be making the same case Trump did, which is, in difficult times, you need a strong man.”
Mr Turnbull said Labor would also be closely watching the fallout of the US election result to see if its own strategy would need to change.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said cost-of-living issues would be front and centre for Labor’s campaign.
“We understand people are feeling pain, which is why we’ve made it such a priority in our budgets, delivering surpluses, seeking to put downward pressure on inflation,” she told Nine’s Today program.
“We know we need to do more, but please remember Mr Dutton has opposed the cost-of-living measures which have made a difference to Australian families.”
By Andrew Brown in Canberra
