Australian opposition concedes defeat in tight election

Associated Press ^ | Jul. 10, 2016 12:44 AM EDT | Kristen Gelineau

[Olog-hai]

Australia’s opposition leader conceded defeat on Sunday in a chaotic national election that has left Australia in a state of political paralysis for more than a week, while officials scramble to sort out who, if anyone, actually won the tight race.

Vote counting was still underway from the July 2 ballot, but opposition leader Bill Shorten said Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s ruling conservative coalition would eventually secure enough seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives to retain power. […]

With Shorten’s center-left Labor Party out of the running, just two options remain: Either the coalition will form a majority government by a slim margin, or the country will have a hung parliament. If that happens, Turnbull’s Liberal Party-led coalition will need to forge an alliance with independent and minor party lawmakers to form a minority government.

Failing that, the country will be forced into another election. …

[Mr Apple]

"Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s ruling conservative coalition would eventually secure enough seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives to retain power."

Things work out fine after all!

[fieldmarshaldj]

Turnbull needs to be kicked out on his squishy, left-wing ass.

[Nextrush]

He blew the party’s strength before the election with his leftward drift and will have less of a majority in the lower house and less of a plurality in the upper house.

[Cowboy Bob]

I thought I saw the leader of the opposition party gloating over his victory last week?

[Wilhelm Tell]

What is it about “conservative” politicians who think they can win by moving left and alienating their base?

[dsc]

“What is it about “conservative” politicians who think they can win by moving left and alienating their base?”

One thing Trump has shown us is that we have no conservative politicians.

Our entire political class, of all parties, is irredeemably corrupt, including Gringrich and all the other chunks of fecal matter being bruited about for VP.

[octex]

fta... Turnbull’s ruling conservative coalition...

...Turnbull’s Liberal Party-led coalition...
**********************************
I know it’s past my bedtime, but those statements don’t make sense. .....Is Turnbull a conservative or a liberal?

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

BTTT!

[naturalman1975]

The Liberal Party is Australia's main conservative party and has been for about seventy years. When it was named in 1945, the name was drawn from the classical liberal traditions of the late 18th and early 19th century - a belief in political and economic freedom within a system of representative democracy.

In the period since then, the term liberal has often come to be associated more with socialist and progressive ideas, especially in the United States, but the Liberal Party of Australia has kept its name.

Having said that, Malcolm Turnbull is from the centrist wing of the party not the conservative core of it, so most conservatives would not call him a conservative. But he's atypical - Tony Abbott (PM from 2013 until 2015), John Howard (PM from 1996 until 2007) were genuine conservatives as were most Liberal Party leaders before them all the way back to Sir Robert Menzies (founder of the party and Australia's longest serving Prime Minister) and there are still a lot of conservatives in the Party and some in the Cabinet.

In essence, we have a broadly conservative government currently lead by a centrist who was installed because it was thought he'd be electorally popular - as that wasn't true (he's barely held onto office) he might not be there much longer. I hope that's the case.

[JosephW]

At least Pauline Hanson can needle him

[Olog-hai]

Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States.

— Communist Goal #15

That goal was achieved sooner than most people realize. And it was the GOP’s attitude towards Reagan that illustrated that as early as 1976, never mind throughout his presidency. Utter waste of breath for some talk show hosts to talk about “a revitalized second party” this far down the road when the Uniparty doesn’t even make a pretense of a two-party system anymore.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Olog-hai.

[Oztrich Boy]

Is Turnbull a conservative or a liberal?

No he's a left-centrist

[Aetius]

Has he retained the sane policy of turning back illegal aliens? When I heard a while back he was more of a ‘centrist’ (i.e. left of center)I figured he may abandon that successful policy since it’s so hated by the left.

[octex]

Thank you very much for the explanation of why the Conservatives are represented by the Liberal party!

It makes sense to me now. The terms used are just opposites depending on where they’re used.

Seems that in the US, the liberals are opposed to freedom and want to be dictators/regulators.