What explained the seismic 2022 federal election? The Australian Election Study has answers

By Ian McAllister, Distinguished Professor of Political Science, Australian National University
Sarah Cameron, Senior Lecturer in Public Policy, Griffith University

The 2022 Australian federal election was distinctive in two ways.

First, it was held in the wake of a major crisis – the COVID-19 pandemic. While the salience of the pandemic had subsided by the time of the election, voters’ assessments of the Coalition government’s performance on the pandemic proved to be a major factor in their voting decision, as did the cost of living crisis it helped create.

Second, almost one in three voters cast their ballots for a minor party or independent candidate, the highest since the 1930s. Of the two major parties, the Liberals fared worst,…

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