In GE 2011, I was rooting for more opposition. Though I did not vote for the opposition. Because the opposition candidate standing in my ward, was kinda meh. WP was not in my ward.
GE 2011 was when Chiam See Tong left Potong Pasir to see if he could leave a better legacy. Low also left Hougang to try for a GRC - Aljunied. One of the gamble paid off.
2011 was when the opposition made inroads, and historically won a GRC. George Yeo was ousted from Aljunied, and left Singapore politics. And the govt. And went on to better (financially) things.
The 2015 GE was historical for the absence of Lee Kuan Yew, who passed away in Mar that year. It was also the 50th year of Singapore's independence. There was talk that the PAP was counting on the goodwill and memory of LKY to sweep the polls.
And that worked out with PAP taking almost 70% of the votes.
GE 2020, and PAP vote share dropped to just over 61%, and WP took 2 GRCs. This GE was held during the COVID pandemic, and the suspicion was that the PAP hoped for voters to "flee to safety" and vote PAP, which did not work out as expected. LKY can only die so many times.
But over the years, I have come to realised that things come in cycles. 2011 - 60% vote share for PAP. 2015 - 70%. 2020 - 61%. 2025 - ???
If the cycle holds, PAP vote share should go up in GE 2025.
At this point in my life, I don't really worry. Maybe the opposition will make more headway. Maybe it won't.
Maybe PAP will regain some votes. Maybe it won't.
Would the opposition win enough seats to displace the PAP, and prevent them from forming the govt? That would be a long shot.
If the voters are aware of the global situation, they would again flee to safety and vote PAP. Lawrence Wong made a speech to explain the unexpected and uncertain world order. The first step to finding a solution is understanding the problem.
Meanwhile, the opposition is still trying to position themselves as "loyal opposition who will speak up fearlessly" which is euphemism for "asking obvious questions".
In an upended world order, with US and China in a trade war, the question I ask myself is, how will Singapore find a niche for itself? And who will find it for Singapore? WP? Or PAP? Or other "loyal opposition"?
That is the question we will answer on Saturday... even if we are not aware of the question.
2011 was when the opposition made inroads, and historically won a GRC. George Yeo was ousted from Aljunied, and left Singapore politics. And the govt. And went on to better (financially) things.
The 2015 GE was historical for the absence of Lee Kuan Yew, who passed away in Mar that year. It was also the 50th year of Singapore's independence. There was talk that the PAP was counting on the goodwill and memory of LKY to sweep the polls.
And that worked out with PAP taking almost 70% of the votes.
GE 2020, and PAP vote share dropped to just over 61%, and WP took 2 GRCs. This GE was held during the COVID pandemic, and the suspicion was that the PAP hoped for voters to "flee to safety" and vote PAP, which did not work out as expected. LKY can only die so many times.
But over the years, I have come to realised that things come in cycles. 2011 - 60% vote share for PAP. 2015 - 70%. 2020 - 61%. 2025 - ???
If the cycle holds, PAP vote share should go up in GE 2025.
At this point in my life, I don't really worry. Maybe the opposition will make more headway. Maybe it won't.
Maybe PAP will regain some votes. Maybe it won't.
Would the opposition win enough seats to displace the PAP, and prevent them from forming the govt? That would be a long shot.
If the voters are aware of the global situation, they would again flee to safety and vote PAP. Lawrence Wong made a speech to explain the unexpected and uncertain world order. The first step to finding a solution is understanding the problem.
Meanwhile, the opposition is still trying to position themselves as "loyal opposition who will speak up fearlessly" which is euphemism for "asking obvious questions".
In an upended world order, with US and China in a trade war, the question I ask myself is, how will Singapore find a niche for itself? And who will find it for Singapore? WP? Or PAP? Or other "loyal opposition"?
That is the question we will answer on Saturday... even if we are not aware of the question.
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