Australia "changes general" again, what's surprising?

(Baonghean) - After a sudden and quick vote, Mr. Malcolm Turnbull will replace Mr. Tony Abbott as Prime Minister of Australia. Thus, in just the past 8 years, Australia has changed Prime Ministers 5 times, and people wonder what changes the new Prime Minister will bring to the Land of Kangaroos.

The quick departure

On the morning of September 14, Tony Abbott was still the Prime Minister of Australia. But his position had completely changed after a secret ballot within the ruling Liberal Party. With 44 votes, Tony Abbott had to accept defeat against 54 votes from Malcolm Turnbull - who had previously resigned as Communications Minister to challenge the Prime Minister's leadership position by ballot.

New Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

“Since taking office, my government has stopped the migrant boats, improved the budget, cut taxes and created jobs. We have delivered better foundations for families and small businesses,” Tony Abbott’s call before the vote failed to gain an advantage over Turnbull. In fact, the Australian economy is in trouble, and the blame for the economic woes is being placed on Abbott’s leadership. Turnbull himself, when he challenged him, said: “The Prime Minister has shown an inability to deliver the economic policy our country needs. He has failed to deliver the economic confidence that businesses need.” Turnbull was even more “worried” when he said that if Abbott remained Prime Minister, the Liberal Party would lose the 2016 Australian election.

Mr. Turbull's point of view is not without reason, when under the leadership of Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Australia's economic growth rate has dropped to 2%/year - much lower than the 3.25% of the previous Prime Minister. Not only that, the sharp decline in the price of raw materials on the world market - also Australia's main export products in recent times - is hitting the country's revenue hard. Economic experts are also concerned that this year, Australia's economy will decline for the first time in 24 years. Although during his tenure, Mr. Tony Abbott promoted the signing of two free trade agreements with Japan and South Korea, the agreement with a major partner, China, has not made much progress and is still "stuck" in the Parliament. In addition, Mr. Tony Abbott has been criticized for not fulfilling many promises such as creating conditions for women to enter government and supporting same-sex marriage. Furthermore, the achievement that he himself mentioned as “stopping migrant boats” was seen as “rigid” and even “disrespectful of international law”.

Thus, Mr. Tony Abbott was unable to overcome the challenge from Mr. Malcolm Turnbull for the second time as he did in February this year, meaning that Australia will welcome a new figure to the Prime Minister's chair - a position that has never been easy. In a television interview, Mr. Tony Abbott said he accepted this result and would not take any action to "make things difficult" for Mr. Malcolm Turnbull.

What to expect from the new Prime Minister?

A country full of creativity, flexibility and innovation - that is what Mr. Malcolm Turnbull promises to bring to Australia. Although he won against Mr. Tony Abbott, Mr. Turnbull showed that he was quite "fair play" when he still appreciated the achievements of his predecessor, and said that he would promote those achievements, combined with new methods to solve the difficulties that Australia is facing. One of the issues that he will focus the most on is the economy. Accordingly, Mr. Turnbull promised to consult more with cabinet members, senior lawyers, and will "explain and defend" the government's economic policies to gain consensus rather than impose - an approach that Mr. Turnel said was different from his predecessor. Although the Liberal Party is a conservative party, Mr. Turnbull is known for his radical views on the center-left, especially his enthusiastic support for climate change and same-sex marriage. As Australia’s new Prime Minister, Mr Turnbull said he would present new proposals for emissions quotas at the International Conference on Climate Change in Paris, France in December. Mr Turnbull understands that the economic and social challenges facing Australia will not “disappear” after the Liberal Party’s decisive vote, but his view is that an innovative, flexible and technologically-driven Australia is fully capable of overcoming those challenges. Mr Turnbull’s biggest commitment is that his government will be a completely liberal government that is focused on each individual and the Australian economy.

A former lawyer and businessman, Mr. Turnbull is now one of Australia's richest politicians and is listed among the country's 200 richest people by the weekly Business Review. However, as the head of the country, people will appreciate his political qualities more. Having held important positions in the cabinet, Mr. Turnbull is seen as a capable politician with confident communication skills. In the eyes of analysts, the new Australian Prime Minister has a more open mind, with a softer and more flexible approach to issues than Mr. Tony Abbott - who is considered to have a rather conservative view.

Malcolm Turnbull said he intends to run the Government until the end of his term and not hold an early election. However, with the “tradition” of “changing Prime Ministers like changing clothes”, one can only wish him well to go all the way as he has planned.

Thuy Ngoc