Australia's conservative opposition splits following historic election defeat

Canberra, May 20 (IANS) Australia's conservative Coalition has split after the National Party announced it would not re-enter a partnership with the Liberal Party following a historic defeat at the federal election.

David Littleproud, leader of the Nationals, on Tuesday said that the party has made the decision not to enter into a new Coalition agreement for the 48th parliament after a breakdown in negotiations with new Liberal leader Sussan Ley.

It comes after the May 3 election for the 48th parliament, at which the governing centre-left Labor Party was re-elected in a historic landslide.

"The National Party will sit alone on a principle basis," Littleproud told reporters in Canberra.

"On the basis of looking forward, not having to look back, and to try and actually regain important policy pieces that change the lives of the people we represent."

It marks the first time since 1987 that the Coalition has split. Since re-forming after the 1987 election, the Coalition governed Australia between 1996 and 2007 and again from 2013 to 2022, with the urban-focused Liberal Party serving as the senior partner and the rural-focused National Party as the junior.

The terms of the agreement have been renegotiated after each general election, but have always been kept secret.

Littleproud said on Tuesday that he and Ley, who was elected as Liberal leader by party members on May 13, could not reach an agreement on policy positions including nuclear power and divestiture powers for major supermarket chains.

However, he said that he would work with Ley "every day" to rebuild the relationship with a goal of re-entering a coalition agreement before the next general election.

The Australian Electoral Commission said that, as of Tuesday, Liberal and National candidates were leading the vote count in 42 of the 150 seats that will comprise the lower house of the 48th parliament, where the government is formed, down from the 58 seats the Coalition won at the 2022 election, Xinhua news agency reported.

Labor candidates were leading the count in 94 seats, the AEC said, which would equal the most seats won by any party at an election in Australian history.