Australia’s would-be PM Albanese shaped by humble start

By ROD McGUIRK
Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The son of a single mother who raised him on a pension, Anthony Albanese had a humble start to life for a politician who could become Australia’s next prime minister. His financially precarious upbringing in government-owned housing in Sydney fundamentally formed the politician who leads the center-left Australian Labor Party opposition. Albanese repeatedly referred during the six-week election campaign ahead of Saturday’s election to the life lessons he learned from his disadvantaged childhood. Labor’s campaign has focused on policies including financial assistance for first home buyers grappling with soaring real estate prices and sluggish wage growth. Labor is also promising cheaper childcare for working parents and better nursing home care for the elderly.