A GE in the time of a pandemic

Is it a good idea to have a General Elections in the midst of a pandemic?

Well, if you ask the opposition, like Tan Cheng Bock, the answer is no.

In fact, any experienced (and/or smart) politician can tell you that having an election during a crisis, like a new pandemic, will result in a "flight to safety" (or a flight to quality).

Basically, if your job is on the line, if your income is not secure, if your business is shaky because of the economic disruption caused by the pandemic, you want a government with a proven track record to steer the country.

A crisis is not the time to "experiment" with untested politicians who have little to no experience leading a country let alone leading a country during a crisis.

Unless the incumbent government has done a terrible job, and you might want to try something new.

Which raises the question: has the current government screwed up royally in their handling of the pandemic?

Well, at the start, Singapore was hailed by outsiders as having the gold standard in contact tracing.

Which is all well and good if you cared what so-called experts overseas think.

Who cares!

The more pertinent question is, are we being taken care of?

Well, again initially, our low numbers would suggest that, yes, the government was doing a good job.

Then the infection numbers in foreign workers dormitory came in and now we are 32nd in the world with over 42,000 infected.

Not good at all.

Singapore has .08% of the world's population... and almost 0.5% of the number of infected... This is one instance where we DO NOT want to punch above our weight.

On the other hand, our 26 fatalities from the coronavirus is just 0.005% of total deaths (475,173, as at 24 June).

So we are doing very well in terms of keeping the death rate down.

But do the people care?

Do people on the streets talk about how low we have kept the death rate down?

Of course not!

For the better off, they wonder when they can get a haircut or go clubbing, or have a meal with friends at their favourite restaurant.

The less fortunate are wondering if they still have a job; if their temporary suspension during the "circuit breaker" is going to be permanent.

Some sectors of the economy are going to take a while to recover. Food and Beverage establishment will have a lot of restrictions for some time (my fave buffet restaurant is still closed in phase 2!), which will make business and life difficult for them. Travel and tourism  will be badly affected for quite a while. People just aren't travelling. Not now and maybe not for a while.

And then circuit breaker was lifted. Phase 1 and then Phase 2. And some people could get back to work, and others could reacquaint themselves with the indulgences they had taken for granted.

And then there were the measures introduced to ameliorate the impact of the pandemic and the circuit breaker. Unity. Solidarity. Resilience. Fortitude.

Or, you can cynically call them "Election Budgets".

But we are in a crisis.

The whole world is in a crisis.

The economic outlook for the world is NOT looking good, projected at -4.9% for 2020. In 2021, it is projected to be -5.4%.

There was also a lot of uncertainty in 2015. And the PAP returned to power with 69.9% win. It was a flight to safety, security, and quality then,

It will be the same this year.