Australia: Liberals survive Tasmanian election due to near-record low Labor vote
After cynically calling an election nearly a year early to try to claim credit for supposedly protecting Tasmania from the global COVID-19 pandemic, the state Liberal Party government has barely scraped back into office.
The result underscores the instability of the political establishment nationally. Premier Peter Gutwein’s government suffered an electoral swing against it for the second election in a row, but survived because the Labor Party’s vote plunged to just 28.4 percent, a near-record low.
Due to postal vote counting and the state’s complicated proportional representation system, it will be a week before it is known whether Gutwein’s government will hold a majority in the 25-seat lower house of parliament, or fall one seat short, on 12. Throughout the campaign, Gutwein declared he would resign rather than lead a minority government, but his plea for a strong majority government fell f
Under Peter Gutwein, the Liberals have won a record third term, but without the huge swings to incumbent governments that have been seen in other states.
Liberalsâ new âJoe Lyonsâ claims historic third-term win
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Tasmanian Liberals are confident they will be able to form a historic, third-term majority government based on counting in the Hobart-based seat of Clark, where the Labor Party received the lowest vote in its history in a state it used to dominate.
One senior Tasmanian Liberal said they expected Premier Peter Gutwein to honour his promise to resign if the party failed to gain enough seats needed to govern in its own right, but counting in Clark made that unlikely and a 4 per cent swing against the Labor Party meant the opposition would not be in a position to form government.
Liberals Win Tasmania Election
Tasmania’s Liberal Party has claimed a historic third straight election win but whether it can govern in majority probably won’t be known for days.
Premier Peter Gutwein is confident but not assured of winning the 13th seat needed to deliver the government a majority in the state’s 25-member lower house.
Counting continues after Saturday night’s poll, with eyes on the crucial race in the Hobart-based electorate of Clark where independents Kristie Johnston and Sue Hickey are polling strongly.
Liberal success in one of the two in-doubt Clark seats could deliver the party a majority, while independent success could give rise to a kingmaker.
Labor leader Rebecca White said the election result reflects the trend of Australian voters favouring incumbent governments for their handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.