"Australian parties vie to form coalition after a close election" by Rod McGuirk, Associated Press | August 23, 2010
CANBERRA, Australia — Leaders of the country’s two major political parties lobbied for support from independent lawmakers yesterday to stitch together the nation’s first minority government since World War II after the closest election in almost 50 years.
The ruling center-left Labor Party hemorrhaged votes to the environment-focused Greens party as the government was punished for shelving plans to charge major polluting industries for every ton of carbon gas they emit.
Maybe those voters who were so inclined were just sending a message.
I find it hard to believe the entire election down there was over "global warming."
Then again, if you were only reading the Boston Globe you might think that.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who remains caretaker leader, said yesterday that it was clear no party had won a majority of the parliamentary seats in Saturday’s poll — the result of which may not be known for a week.
Market analysts predicted the uncertainty would push the Australian dollar and stock market lower when trading resumes today.
That can only help the opposition.
With more than 78 percent of the vote counted, the Australian Electoral Commission said Labor had won 70 seats and the opposition Liberal Party-led coalition 72. Most analysts agreed the coalition was likely to finish with 73, one seat ahead of Labor.
What is taking so long down there?
Gillard and Liberal leader Tony Abbott said they initiated talks with three independents, as well as the Greens party in a bid to secure votes in the House of Representatives....
Both Labor and the Liberals conceded neither would achieve the 76 seats needed to form a government in the 150-seat lower chamber....
Abbott — who doubts the science behind climate change and rules out taxing polluters for their greenhouse gas emissions — said the Labor government had proved unstable after Gillard ousted former prime minister Kevin Rudd in a surprise internal party coup two months ago....
Well, he certainly has good reasons for feeling that way on "climate change."
As for the coup, that was engineered by Israel -- and that is why the foreign policy will not change.
Analyst Norman Abjorensen, an Australian National University political scientist, said the most likely outcome would be an unstable minority government led by Abbott and supported by three independents....
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