Tony Abbott is the new Prime Minister of Australia, after his election opponent Kevin Rudd called an end to six years of Labor rule by conceding defeat.
Mr Rudd - whose party's infighting has irked and disillusioned voters - accepted the apparently inevitable result in a speech to party activists in Brisbane, and has said he will step down as party leader.
He said: "A short time ago I telephoned Tony Abbott to concede defeat at this national election. As Prime Minister of Australia, I wish him well in the high office of prime minister of this country."
Rudd only became party leader in June, after knifing his predecessor, Julia Gillard.
In a speech to his supporters, who loudly chanted his name, Mr Abbott said: "Australia is under new management and Australia is once more open for business.
"A good government is one with a duty to help everyone to maximise his or her potential.
"We will not leave anyone behind."
With 80 per cent of votes tallied, the Australian Electoral Commission showed Mr Abbott's Liberal Party-led conservative coalition was leading with 88 of 150 seats in the House of Representatives, to Labor's 56.
The coalition managed to win over a disenchanted public by promising to end a hated tax on carbon emissions, boost the nation's flagging economy and bring about political stability after years of Labor Party infighting.
A win for the coalition comes despite Mr Abbott's relative unpopularity. The 55-year-old former Roman Catholic seminarian and Rhodes scholar has long struggled to connect with women voters and was once dubbed "unelectable" by opponents.
He also opposes legalising gay marriage and was labelled a misogynist by Mrs Gillard. Forgetting their former duelling, Gillard today tweeted: "Congrats to Mr Abbott & Mr (National Party leader, Warren) Truss for leading their parties to victory. I wish them & their teams well. It's always an honour to serve."
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