Anthony Albanese has been reelected as the Prime Minister of Australia. He became the first Australian leader to win a second consecutive election in more than two decades. His Labor Party dramatically increased its parliamentary majority. Albanese has been the Australian PM since 2022.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his congratulations to Anthony Albanese on his election as the Prime Minister of Australia on Saturday.

PM Modi wrote on X, “Congratulations @AlboMP on your resounding victory and re-election as Prime Minister of Australia! This emphatic mandate indicates the enduring faith of the Australian people in your leadership.”

PM Modi said he looks “forward to working together to further deepen the India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and advance our shared vision for peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.”

How does Anthony Albanese’s election win impact India?

Not much. In the past, India and Australia have maintained a stable relationship under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Anthony Albanese.

According to the Australian government, along with Japan, Australia is one of only two countries with which India has annual leader-level meetings, a free trade agreement, and a 2+2 foreign and defence ministers’ meeting.

Australia and India regularly interact at international fora, including through the Quad, G20 and East Asia Summit.

“On 19 November 2024, Prime Minister Albanese and Prime Minister Modi met at the Group of 20 (G20) Summit in Rio de Janeiro, and in its margins held the 2nd Australia-India Annual Summit. They also met during the Quad Leaders’ Summit in Wilmington on 21 September 2024,” the Australian government said.

It added that Prime Minister Modi visited Australia in May 2023 and Prime Minister Albanese travelled to India in March for the Annual Leaders’ Summit, and returned in September for the G20 Leaders’ Summit.

In 2024, PM Narendra Modi met Anthony Albanese MP during the second India-Australia Annual Summit on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) Summit in Rio de Janeiro on 19 November 2024.

During the meeting, “The Prime Ministers welcomed the growing space partnership between the two countries, both at space agency and space industry levels. Cooperation to support the Gaganyaan missions, the planned launch of Australian satellites on-board an Indian launch vehicle in 2026 and joint projects between our respective space industries exemplify this deepening collaboration.”

Since May 2022, there have been 24 Australian Ministerial visits to India and 19 Indian Ministerial visits to Australia.

Anthony Albanese’s election win impact on global politics

The election, in which Anthony Albanese secured a victory for the second consecutive time, was said to have been weighed down by economic upheaval and heightened geopolitical and trade uncertainty sparked by US President Donald Trump’s policies.

Trump’s tariffs — first 25 percent on Australia’s aluminum and steel, then 10 percent across the board — had driven voters toward the even-keeled incumbent and away from his conservative opponent, Peter Dutton, whose plans and rhetoric had echoed the American president, said Sean Kelly, a political columnist for the Sydney Morning Herald.

Trump tariffs sparked keen global interest in whether his tariff-induced economic chaos would influence the Australian election result. Trump’s April 2 tariff announcement added to voters’ unease as it sent shockwaves through global markets and raised concerns about the impact on their pension funds, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, Albanese has promised modest tax cuts, cheaper health care and new homes for first-time buyers, DW news reported. He has also pledged more subsidized child care, electricity bill rebates and a 20% reduction in student debt.

Albanese’s Labor party also wants to replace fossil fuel-fired electricity generators with renewable energy sources as part of its efforts to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, the report added.

Australia’s relations with US and China

Michael Fullilove, executive director of the Lowy Institute, a Sydney think tank, was quoted by the Washington Post as saying, “The US is our great security ally and China is our most important economic partner — and they are currently at loggerheads.”

According to the report, Albanese and his opponent Dutton had doubled down on the security alliance with the US, including a deal for Australia to buy nuclear submarines to push back on growing Chinese military assertiveness in the region.

But Beijing is also Canberra’s biggest trading partner and Australia wants to keep ships of its iron ore flowing to China, even as Australia buys weapons from Washington, the report added.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated Albanese on his election to a second three-year term.

“Australia is a valued ally, partner, and friend of the United States. Our shared values and democratic traditions provide the bedrock for an enduring alliance and for the deep ties between our peoples,” Rubio said in a statement.

“The United States looks forward to deepening its relationship with Australia to advance our common interests and promote freedom and stability in the Indo-Pacific and globally,” he added.

‘US-China tussle a top priority’

Australia’s government will prioritise dealing with the “dark shadow” of the US-China trade war following its resounding reelection victory, Treasurer Jim Chalmers was quoted by Reuters as saying on Sunday, after a campaign that highlighted concerns over US trade policy and the global economy.

“The immediate focus is on global economic uncertainty, US and China, and what it means for us,” Treasurer Jim Chalmers told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. “What’s happening, particularly between the US and China, does cast a dark shadow over the global economy … We need to have the ability, and we will have the ability, to manage that uncertainty,” he said.

Meanwhile, “The biggest challenge for the next government is to manage the strategic triangle between Washington, Beijing and Canberra,” Fullilove said.