The World’s Most Successful Economy Looks Set to Swing Left
The country is poised to vote in a Labor government just as it clinches the record for the longest stretch of economic growth.
Australian opposition leader Bill Shorten has a thumb war with radio host Dannii on April 18 in Darwin, Australia.
Photographer: Stefan Postles/Getty Images
Just over a week after Australia seized the crown for the developed world’s longest stretch of uninterrupted economic growth, tens of thousands of protesters poured onto the streets to rage against their deteriorating living standards. “Workers and their families are angry,” said trade union boss Michele O’Neil as up to 170,000 people clogged some of Melbourne’s busiest streets on April 10. Chants and banners demanded wage growth, and O’Neil was clear on who was to blame: “We are going to fight to get rid of this rotten government,” she said to applause.
That boast is far from hollow. Opinion polls show the trade union-affiliated Labor Party on track for a comfortable election victory on May 18 over Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s center-right Liberal National Coalition government. Such an outcome would result in a sharp leftward political shift just as the nation’s almost 28-year growth streak runs into a soft patch.