David Crisafulli will lead Queensland’s first LNP government in a decade. who is he

David Crisafulli, leader of the centre-right Queensland Liberal National Party (LNP), will be Queensland’s 41st premier. The party will form a majority government for the first time since 2012.

Late Saturday eveningCrisafulli claimed a victory of “hope over fear” following a campaign dominated by messages about youth crime, the cost of living, housing and health. Depression.

Although earlier polls projected a landslide for the LNP, Steven Miles’ three-term Labor party managed to narrow this link in the last week of the campaign.

Although there will be a change of government, the result was not as decisive as many expected. As the vote counts rolled in on election night, they revealed a fragmented picture of who Queenslanders want in their parliament.

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LNP success in the regions

Miles campaigned vigorously on the bread-and-butter issues of cost of living, while promising more state involvement and regulation in housing, energy retail and gas stations.

This seems to have played well in their central venues of Brisbane, Ipswich and Logan, where they are likely to have returned. South Brisbane and Ipswich West on the lap Labor lost the first to the Greens 2020 and the latter to the PNL in an earlier by-election 2024.

Despite this, with a laser focus on youth crime, the LNP made strong gains across the state, particularly on the north coasts and central Queensland.

They really took it Mackaya seat Labor has held for more than a century.

The PNL harmonized its strong focus on crime with candidate selection. Some were important victims of crime fighters (such as in Capalabajust outside Brisbane). Others had a background in law enforcement.

How did the minor parties do?

While the primary vote for the Greens increased modestly, they fell short of the election results they had hoped. After campaigning hard in four Brisbane seats in particular, the party has failed to pick up any seats so far, although they are ahead in Maiwar.

Despite their efforts to raise several places in north Queenslandparliament will likely continue with a contingent of three or four MPs from Katter’s Australian Party.

Popular independent Sandy Bolton was re-elected in Noosawhile One Nation failed to secure a seat after fielding a candidate in all 93 electorates.

But the PNL will govern with a majority. It’s a Crisafulli said last night that he would use it with “humility and decency”, to “rule long”.

This perhaps alluded to possible lessons learned from the LNP’s short-lived success time around.

But it also foreshadowed challenges he would face as a leader.

Who is the new prime minister?

Like many politicians, Crisafulli will point to his early education as providing valuable lessons along his path to premiership.

The 45-year-old was born in Ingham, in north Queensland, the son and grandson of Italian immigrants who run a successful company. sugar cane farm.

In his girl speech in 2012, he attributed his success to his upbringing on a farm, the discipline he learned at local Catholic primary and secondary schools, and the skills he gained working as a journalist during and after his days at James Cook University (where he was also known for competing ). eating spaghetti).

He can claim to understand the needs of rural and far northern voters who often you feel neglected compared to the more densely populated southeast.

Despite this, his later career shows that he is not tied to that rural identity. It also shows that he cannot pretend to be an amateur politician.

Although he was not involved in student politics, his political education it started early as media adviser to former minister Howard Ian McDonald.

He displayed the energy and ambition that have remained the hallmarks of his career as he successfully navigated the usually Labor-dominated politics of Townsville, becoming the youngest ever councilor in 2004 and deputy mayor in 2008.

He joined the state parliament in Mundingburra as part of Campbell Newman. 2012 elimination of Labor.

However, his time as a cabinet minister and high public profile were not enough to save him from a bitter exit from parliament when the electorate turned to Work in 2015.

After reinventing himself as a Gold Coast-based business consultant, he began his rise again by successfully defeating the incumbent in the safe LNP seat of Broadwater.

After the party lost the 2020 elections, Crisafulli took over party leadership.

He remained constantly on the move, unusual not permanently residing in his electorate, but instead travels throughout the state.

Crisafulli focused on keeping public attention on crises (so-called or real) in juvenile crime (even promising resign if they couldn’t quickly reverse crime rates).

He also campaigned health services and home ownership and cost of living.

In support of this goal, he echoed many of the Labor Party’s pledges to lower the cost of living, such as cheaper public transport. Unusually, Crisafulli even agreed to honor her unseen budget commitments.

But on more controversial issues of interest to the party’s conservative base, he has shown a tendency to try to avoid being nailed.

This was most clear in the issue of abortion. At the end of the campaign, Crisafulli said he supported “a woman’s right to choose”, but did not rule out a conscience vote on the subject.

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Otherwise, he moved the party decisively to the right only when he could claim to follow public opinion. For example, he abandoned bipartisan support for a The Path to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Treaty after the failed Voice referendum.

Interestingly, Crisafulli has shown a willingness to disagree his federal counterparts in the field of nuclear energy.

Given that he has staked his leadership and credibility on tackling the thorny issues of housing, health, crime and the cost of living, he may have to take some big political risks.

With Queensland voters giving him a majority, which in the Queensland parliament comes with few restrictions on power, how well he will manage to avoid the mistakes of the Newman era remains to be seen.