Australian prime minister launches campaign days before poll

By ROD McGUIRK
Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s embattled prime minister has officially launched his conservative party’s campaign less than a week before elections, highlighting the nation’s early success in containing the pandemic and its strong economic recovery. Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s coalition trails the center-left Labor Party opposition in most opinion polls as the administration seeks a rare fourth three-year term at elections on Saturday. Morrison on Sunday focused the party launch on economic management, which has traditionally been regarded as the strength of his conservative Liberal Party. He described the election as “a choice between a strong economy or a weaker one that only makes your life harder, not better.”