Australia's Liberal-National coalition regroups after brief split

Australia’s main opposition alliance, the Liberal-National Coalition, is regrouping after ending an eight-day split between the two parties. The reunification follows an agreement between Liberal leader Sussan Ley and Nationals leader David Littleproud. Ley thanked Littleproud for the "respectful and productive" negotiations that led to the parties reuniting. The pair also announced a new shadow cabinet composed of members from both parties. The split occurred last Tuesday after Littleproud said the parties could not agree on key policy issues. However, those disagreements now appear to be

Australia’s main opposition alliance, the Liberal-National Coalition, is regrouping after ending an eight-day split between the two parties. The reunification follows an agreement between Liberal leader Sussan Ley and Nationals leader David Littleproud. Ley thanked Littleproud for the "respectful and productive" negotiations that led to the parties reuniting. The pair also announced a new shadow cabinet composed of members from both parties. The split occurred last Tuesday after Littleproud said the parties could not agree on key policy issues. However, those disagreements now appear to be resolved. “Our focus is now on [Prime Minister] Anthony Albanese and the Labor government—holding them to account, because that’s important for our democracy,” Littleproud told the media on Wednesday afternoon. Ley succeeded former Liberal leader Peter Dutton following the Coalition’s poor performance in the recent election, in which Labor secured a second term with a landslide victory. She has pledged to reposition the Liberals closer to the center-right. Tensions between the Liberals and Nationals—who mainly represent regional communities and often take more conservative stances—have grown in recent years, particularly over climate and energy policies. According to local broadcaster ABC, the two parties have agreed to abandon a previous commitment to build seven nuclear power plants. However, they will continue to push for lifting the national ban on nuclear energy. The Liberal-National partnership, in its current form, dates back to the 1940s and has experienced several breakdowns and reunifications over the decades. The last split occurred nearly four decades ago, in 1987.