CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s robust economy, triple-A credit rating and low debt has been the envy of other developed nations that have struggled to recover since the global recession. So when the government earlier this week announced a debt crisis requiring drastic spending cuts, Australians could be forgiven a certain amount of disbelief.

The government’s austerity budget was so contentious it has raised the possibility of fresh elections because Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s conservative coalition faces stiff resistance in the Senate to its harshest measures.