Australia has a new Tony Abbott-led coalition government. Mr. Abbotts’s election victory was well-telegraphed by the polls , but the real action is going to be in the upper house.
While the final result from the upper house will not be known for weeks, what is certain is that the government will not have a majority there, which could potentially be a big problem for Abbott.
Note that the current senate sits until July 2014, this election only effects the Senate composition from July 2014. Even at present, though, Abbott does not have a majority in the Senate.
The numbers for post-July 2014 at this stage, and this may well change, look like:
- Abbott’s coalition 32 Seats
- Labour (the main opposition party) 25
- Greens 9 (the Greens and Labour tend to work as a coalition, but not always)
- Other senators 8
I’ll just repeat – these are preliminary figures and may well change in details, but the governing coalition will not achieve a majority. the Senate is in a position to block government bills, should it so wish.