Australia’s Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, has set the date for the upcoming election on May 3, starting what is projected to be a closely contested campaign focusing on issues such as the cost of living and a housing crisis amidst a slow-growing economy.

Albanese aims to achieve an unprecedented consecutive election victory, something not accomplished by an Australian leader in over twenty years, as the country faces political fragmentation that jeopardizes its economic prosperity.

His rival, Liberal leader Peter Dutton, hopes to capitalize on a global trend of incumbent backlash that led to government turnovers worldwide in 2024. However, Australia has not voted out a first-term government in a hundred years, posing a significant challenge for Dutton, a former police officer from Queensland.

Albanese emphasized the stark differences between Labor’s strategy of continued development and Dutton's proposed austerity measures during a press briefing in Canberra last Friday.

The shadow of global uncertainty looms over the election due to President Donald Trump's administration and the impending announcement of extensive tariffs.

Opinion polls have not been favorable for Albanese's center-left government, with low approval ratings for the Prime Minister and a tight race between Labor and the center-right Liberal-National coalition. Labor has five weeks to reverse this trend during the election campaign.

Albanese, who took office in 2022 with a platform focused on climate action, political integrity, and indigenous rights, has had to confront challenges such as high inflation, elevated interest rates, and a housing shortage exacerbated by increased migration.

In the current election cycle, Albanese's key pledges involve easing the cost of living through tax reforms and increased rebates to shield households from surging energy prices, with the claim that the worst of the economic strain has passed supported by decreasing inflation and the recent interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank.