Australia’s Scott Morrison goes full throttle on anti-China rhetoric to boost re-election bid
- The prime minister painted the opposition Labor Party as pro-Beijing and called his main rival Anthony Albanese weak on national security
- Morrison’s attack coincides with surveys showing his Liberal National Coalition government on track for a major defeat in an election that must be held by May 21
The 53-year-old leader has recently painted the opposition Labor Party as pro-China, calling his main rival Anthony Albanese weak on national security and labelling another lawmaker a “Manchurian candidate” – a comment he later withdrew. Labor has dismissed Morrison’s attacks as a desperate attempt to ensure his political survival.
The escalation in anti-China rhetoric coincides with opinion polls showing Morrison’s centre-right Liberal National Coalition government on track for a major defeat in an election that must be held by May 21. A Newspoll survey this month found the Coalition trailing Labor by 10 percentage points, which would translate into a loss of as many as 21 seats for a government that currently holds a slim majority.
“We don’t often have elections bent on foreign policy, but the polls show the government has ground to make up,” said Natasha Kassam, director of the Public Opinion and Foreign Policy programme at Sydney’s Lowy Institute. “And national security has always been more comfortable campaigning space for the Coalition than for Labor.”