NEWSMAKER-Australia's Albanese is a negotiator with concern for social issues

By Kirsty Needham

SYDNEY, May 1 (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is a pragmatic leader whose first term was hampered by the headwinds of global inflation, but whose fortunes rebounded by offering stability against the backdrop of President Donald Trump's volatile diplomacy.

Albanese, seeking re-election at Saturday's general election, told voters a government led by the conservative opposition of Liberal Party leader Peter Dutton would bring "chaos" to Australia.

"In an uncertain world, a vote for Labor means you can be certain of a government that will stand up for Australia, not copy from overseas," Albanese said in a National Press Club speech in the final days of the campaign.

Polls show his centre-left Labor government had moved ahead of the conservative Liberal-National coalition, a significant turnaround during the campaign, as his opponent was compared to Trump and voters became risk averse.

When Trump imposed a 10% tariff on Australian exports, Albanese said the move was "not the act of a friend", and he would not compromise with U.S. trade negotiators over Australia's efforts to lower medicine prices for families, and new social media laws to protect children.

"He gave the message, 'Don't worry Australia'," said independent political analyst Simon Jackman.

During his term in office, Albanese had pulled Australia closer to the U.S., its major security ally, committing A$368 billion ($232 billion) to their AUKUS nuclear submarine partnership with Britain.

He also restarted dialogue with China after a diplomatic freeze and trade boycott by Beijing, saying stabilising ties with Australia's biggest customer was in the national interest.

"China is the major power in the region, which is seeking to increase its influence. But the relationship is complex as well, because China is our major trading partner," Albanese said in a televised election debate, when asked if Beijing was a threat.

Australia's response was to invest in defence and diplomacy, he added.

WORKING CLASS BOY MADE GOOD

Those who know Albanese, 62, say he is genuinely motivated by a mix of pragmatism and concern for social justice gained from childhood struggles, when he was brought up in public housing by a single mother on a disability pension.

"There is a lovely softness to him. I have seen him cry," said Labor parliamentarian Linda Burney, a long-time neighbour in inner Sydney, who attributed her entry into politics to encouragement from the prime minister.

"He has just been a rock in my life," added Burney, who became the first Indigenous person elected to the parliament of New South Wales in 2003, before going on to be Minister for Indigenous Australians in federal parliament.

"Kindness isn't weakness... I've been capable of making tough decisions," Albanese said in a televised election debate.

In the 2022 campaign that won Albanese the prime minister's office after nine years of conservative rule, Labor spotlighted his working-class credentials heavily.

The first in his family to attend university, "Albo" as he is often referred to, studied economics and engaged in student politics.

But by 2024, media headlines focused on his A$4 million ($2.5 million) purchase of an oceanfront house in New South Wales, amid a housing affordability crisis that became a dominant theme of the 2025 election.

Despite delivering early on core promises to boost childcare funding and lift wages of low-income workers, Albanese was hampered as global inflation caused by the war in Ukraine drove up energy prices and interest rates, said Frank Bongiorno, a professor of history at the Australian National University.

Burney, who sat in cabinet meetings, said Albanese worked with his team to craft household relief measures such as energy bill rebates that were "just crucial in terms of seeing Australia through very difficult times".

Labor's 2025 election promises feature tax cuts, help for young home buyers, and a centrepiece pledge of A$8.5 billion more for healthcare under a revitalised Medicare.

Albanese's passion for the National Rugby League, a sport he discussed with Trump on their first telephone call in 2025, eventually dovetailed with geopolitics.

Australia pledged A$600 million ($378 million) to bring its Pacific Islands neighbour Papua New Guinea into the league and fund its team - if it rejected security ties with Beijing.

PNG leader James Marape said in February he would "forever appreciate" Albanese's support to create the first national team.

As prime minister, Albanese staked significant political capital on improving the position of Australia's Indigenous peoples.

He pushed ahead with a national referendum in 2023 seeking to recognise them in the constitution, despite opposition by the conservative Liberal-National coalition.

Albanese said he accepted responsibility after more than 60% of Australians voted "No".

"That was an enormously damaging episode to the government," said Bongiorno, who has authored a book on the Labor Party.

Albanese's policy themes owe a debt to Bob Hawke, Labor's longest-serving prime minister, in whose reformist government he worked as a research officer, after being elected president of the party's youth wing at 22.

Hawke launched the universal health scheme Medicare and took steps towards a treaty with Indigenous people but ultimately failed to deliver it.

Polls suggest Labor could fall short of the seats needed to form majority government, and require support from independent lawmakers.

Albanese was at the centre of managing Australia's last minority government, as Leader of the House for Labor Prime Minister Julia Gillard, between 2010 and 2013.

"If it is a hung parliament, his leadership, his negotiation skills and his experience in the political arena is going to be absolutely critical," said Burney.

($1 = 1.5883 Australian dollars)