Australian Government Loses Majority in By-election

Australia is about to experience a period of political instability following the presidential elections following which the government announced a by-election that deprived the Liberal-National coalition of a single majority of its seat in the United States. parliament.

Wentworth was won by Kerryn Phelps, an independent candidate who capitalized on voters' disenchantment with a government that had gone through a chaotic period of a few months. The vote was sparked by the resignation of Malcolm Turnbull, who was removed from his position as leader of the Liberal Party and prime minister in August in a leadership race for the Liberal Party.

Ian McAllister, a professor of politics at Australian National University, said the government probably would not fall. in the short term, because of the creation of a suspended parliament, several independent candidates being likely to support the government in the votes on the offer of funding.

"This will not make the government fall – comparisons have guaranteed supply. – but it's extremely embarrbading. That's the worst result since John Howard lost his seat in 2007, "said McAllister.

The Wentworth headquarters – one of the richest in Australia – n & # 39; 39, was never lost by the Liberal Party and Mr. Turnbull received 62% first vote in the last election of 2016. But Turnbull's overthrow as leader of the Liberal Party in August angered many local voters , who went from Liberal candidate Dave Sharma's vote to Ms. Phelps – a physician who was the first woman to be elected president of the Australian Medical Association.

State broadcaster ABC announced the result for Ms. Phelps when the count revealed a 20% swing against the Liberal Party.

With nearly 40% of the vote counted, Mr. Sharma had only 38% of first preferences, while M Phelps won 33, according to ABC

Scott Morrison said the defeat was not unexpected. "Today 's result is about us, the liberals, not about Dave Sharma," said the Prime Minister.

"The Liberal Party has paid a heavy price tonight for the events of several months."

The Liberal-National coalition, in power since 2013, was hit hard a few months after Mr. Turnbull was ousted. In a desperate attempt to persuade voters to support Dave Sharma, the Liberal candidate for Wentworth, a constituency with 13% Jews, Mr. Morrison announced that he was considering transferring the Australian Embbady. in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and withdraw support from Canberra. The decision was criticized by Labor's opposition party, which accused the government of playing politics with Australia's bipartisan foreign policy on the Middle East. Muslim countries have also publicly criticized the review, prompting Indonesia to badert that it could undermine bilateral relations.