Anthony Albanese Makes Indonesia His First Visit After Winning Australian Election

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese revealed to Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto that Indonesia would be his first trip after winning the Australian general election.

The plan was conveyed by Albanese when Prabowo called and congratulated him on Sunday, May 5, 2025.

"I want to congratulate you on your big victory. I am very happy. I am very happy," said Prabowo quoted from a video conversation released by the Presidential Palace on May 5, 2025.

Albanese responded with a thank you and then conveyed to Prabowo that he had a personal request.

"My friend, I have one request for you," said Albanese.

"Please, go ahead," Prabowo replied.

"And I want you to say 'yes'," continued Albanese.

"Please, please, please," Prabowo replied.

"I want Indonesia to be my first visit," said Albanese.

Prabowo enthusiastically welcomed the request.

"Extraordinary, a great honor. A great honor. A great honor," he said.

Albanese then reiterated the importance of the relationship between the two countries.

"Australia and Indonesia have an unbreakable bond," he said.

"True, true, true. Alright, we will schedule it with your team later," Prabowo replied.

Albanese then briefly shared with Prabowo how exhausting the recent election process had been for him. He admitted that he hadn't slept for several days.

Prabowo responded by saying, "And this is historic, isn't it? This is historic."

"It has never happened before," replied Albanese.

"Great, great, great. Extraordinary," said Prabowo.

Ending the conversation, Prabowo reaffirmed Indonesia's readiness to welcome an official visit from Albanese.

"Yes, we will arrange your visit here. We will arrange it," he said.

"I look forward to meeting you soon," said Albanese.

The Labor Party of Australia, led by Albanese, has won a second term in the election held on Saturday, May 3, 2025. Albanese defeated his main opponent from the Liberal Party, Peter Dutton.

This victory makes him the first Labor Party prime minister to serve for the second consecutive time in the last two decades.

The Labor Party defeated the conservative coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. This victory marks a rare consecutive term for the party.

Albanese's victory forced opposition leader Peter Dutton to acknowledge defeat in the election on Saturday, May 3, 2025.

"We did not do well enough during this campaign, that is very clear tonight, and I take full responsibility for it," said Dutton quoted from CBS News.

The Australian Electoral Commission announced that the center-left Labor Party in power won 70 seats and the conservative opposition coalition won 24 seats in the 150-member Parliament. Small unaligned parties and independent candidates won 13 seats.

Anthony Albanese was born in 1963 to a single mother of Irish descent. He was raised in public housing in Camperdown, a suburb in western Sydney. Albanese attended St. Joseph's Primary School and St Mary's Cathedral College.

His political journey began in the early 1980s, inspired by his mother's involvement in the Labor Party. Albanese started as a research officer for Tom Uren, a politician who became his primary mentor.

He won his first election at the age of 33 in 1996. He continued to hold his seat, culminating in his appointment as the 31st Prime Minister of Australia in May 2022. He is the first Labor Party leader to form a government since 2013.

Sita Planasari and Ida Rosdalina contributed to this article.

Editor's Choice: Prabowo Congratulates Anthony Albanese on Reelection as Australian PM

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News