Albanese and Trump discuss future cooperation after Australian election win

Monday 05 May 2025 - 15:03

By: Zahouani Ilham

Albanese and Trump discuss future cooperation after Australian election win

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese recently revealed that he had a “warm” conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump following his victory in the recent federal election. The call, which took place after Albanese's Labor Party secured a decisive win, touched on key issues like tariffs and the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal.

Albanese described the exchange as a cordial discussion highlighting the strong friendship between their nations. He mentioned that he had held three conversations with President Trump, who expressed generous personal praise and a desire to continue collaborating in the future. While Albanese chose not to delve into personal comments made by Trump, he acknowledged the president's recognition of the election outcome.

The election, dominated by concerns over the cost of living and the potential impact of Trump's trade policies, saw Albanese's center-left Labor Party outperform expectations. In contrast, the Liberal-National Coalition, led by Peter Dutton, suffered a heavy defeat. The results showed that the Coalition, which critics argued mirrored Trump's populist rhetoric, had only secured 40 seats out of the 151 in the House of Representatives, while Labor gained at least 85 seats.

The conversation between the two leaders also covered trade tensions, particularly Trump's 10 percent tariff on Australia as part of his broader trade policy. While the U.S. president has paused most of these tariffs until July, a baseline tariff of 10 percent on almost all imports has been in effect since April. Albanese had previously criticized the tariffs as “unwarranted” and a gesture that did not align with the actions of a friend.