More than ten days after the parliamentary elections in Australia, it is clear that the new Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, can govern in Parliament with a slim majority and will not be dependent on the votes of other parties. After it had already become apparent on Monday that the Labor Party would win 76 of the 151 seats in the House of Commons, another seat was added on Tuesday. The end result is now 77 seats for Labor, 58 for the Conservative Australian Liberal National Party coalition and 16 for Independent and other parties.
The cabinet of the new prime minister was sworn in on Wednesday. Ten of the 22 ministries are headed by women – more than ever before in the history of the country. Linda Burney (65) is the first woman with indigenous roots to head the Australian Indigenous Ministry. Both the Foreign and Home Offices are led by women with Penny Wong and Clare O’Neil. Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of Defense is Richard Marles, who has also been Deputy Labor Party leader since 2019.
