Enlarge image
Anthony Albanese
Photo: DEAN LEWINS/EPA
Around a decade of conservative government lies behind Australia - and now the country is suddenly in a hurry.
Just two days after the vote, Anthony Albanese has been sworn in as the 31st Prime Minister.
The 59-year-old Labor chief was sworn in by Governor General David Hurley on Monday.
Several ministers of the new cabinet were sworn in with him in Canberra, including the new Secretary of State, Penny Wong.
The counting of the votes is still not over.
For the time being, it remains unclear whether Albanese can govern with an absolute majority or will be dependent on the votes of other parties.
According to official partial results, the Labor Party secured at least 74 of the 151 seats in the House of Representatives.
76 mandates are required for an absolute majority in the parliamentary chamber.
A good dozen seats have not yet been determined.
The swearing-in took place so quickly because Albanese and Wong want to attend a summit with US President Joe Biden and the heads of government from Japan and India on Tuesday in Tokyo.
At the so-called Quad Summit, the focus should be on striving for a free and open Indo-Pacific.
The states are trying not to let China's influence in the region continue to grow.
Around 17 million eligible voters were called on Saturday to vote for all 151 seats in the lower house and half of the 78 seats in the Senate.
Voting is compulsory in Australia.
Morrison government penalized by voters
The right-wing conservative coalition led by former Prime Minister Scott Morrison suffered heavy losses.
After years of repeated environmental disasters, most recently catastrophic floods, it was criticized primarily because of its climate policy.
Morrison, who was controversial mainly because of his coal-friendly climate policy, also wants to resign from the party leadership after the election disaster.
He had conceded defeat a few hours after the polls closed on Saturday night and congratulated the Labor competitor.
Albanese wants to overcome his country's bad reputation as a climate sinner.
At the summit in Japan, he will announce a fundamental change of course, "particularly with regard to climate change."
He had promised during the election campaign to reduce Australia's CO2 emissions by 43 percent by 2030 compared to 2005.
In addition, his party campaigned for a massive expansion of renewable energies, purchase premiums on electric cars and significantly stricter emission laws.
jok/dpa