new Zeland? Taiwan? No, The Economist’s Country of the Year is… Malawi- Corriere.it

What is the best country of the year? Or rather, the most developed country, the one that has made the greatest or … the best improvements. It wasn’t a game of tongue, but the sound of the Tam Tam that was heard around mid-December at many ministerial or corporate meetings in various cities around the world. The Economist dedicates this, the most famous weekly, title that every self-respecting leader can read on his mobile phone or tablet every Friday morning, in every corner of the planet. Economic governance can direct jobs and investments. In short, being the country elected by that newspaper elicits a wait between fun and nervousness…well, we’re a bit ahead. On the other hand, the English newspaper also does so in announcing the winning nation. He takes it away, and puts the list first potential candidates. It is a question of judging who has taken the biggest steps towards it improve their living standards, which increased more than we can call it The relationship between democracy and the economy, Assuming that the former should not be sacrificed in favor of the latter.

In short, who made their people live better than they were a year ago, in terms of freedom and progress, or who defended them better from misfortune. Here: Since then Covid was a disgrace to everyone, and the way it was handled could be the first clue. And it will Straight to New Zealand. First Minister Jacinda Ardern is now a planetary legend. We all want a leader like this, able to reassure us with a smile in a two-minute social video in which she’s wearing an old sweatshirt and breast-feeding a baby. Charisma and charisma wouldn’t hold up, though, if that sense of authenticity wasn’t backed up by facts, and Jacinda’s facts were well established: In the face of Covid, I shut down the country and invited 5 million players on my team to participate. Kind and thoughtful with each other. In the end, only 25 players died, including 25 New Zealanders in total. Rugby fields remained crowded. She was re-elected by the team’s commendation.

For Covid, there are those who have done better: Taiwan. Call it what you want, call it the region that actually governs itself, says The Economist, and taunts the Chinese in Beijing and their claims to an island of peace and common sense, which thanks to well-established practices in containing epidemics (read: trace) He only had 7 deaths 7 Without even having to close schools, stores and restaurants, it clearly has one of the most prosperous economies for 2020. But Taiwan stands out above all For his courage in resisting Beijing’s arroganceA president who grants asylum to Hong Kong activists is detained in favor of a friendlier foe with the motherland. Then, The Economist did well to point out that Taiwanese have always been Chinese, and thus do a great service to a billion and a half of their fellow citizens in cages: they have shown that being Chinese is not incompatible with being a democracy. Come on, sooner or later this dreaded regime will fall and China will become Taiwanese (believe us). Then the newspaper tries to kick us out a bit, citing him The United States that got rid of Trump And they made a crucial contribution to the vaccine. and the BoliviaBecause The Economist couldn’t help but be influenced by a piece of South American populism introduced by technocrats like Louis Ars.

But the winner is… Malawi! Why is this small Southeast African country, with a population of just over 16 million, the capital of Lilongwe? Because, thanks to Covid, it was a tragic year for democracy: between the start of the pandemic and September, the Freedom House documents, Respect for human rights has declined in 80 countries. On the other hand, Malawi has moved like a giant towards progress. What did Malawi do? simply yesYou have been given a strong and independent judiciary, a critical finding in a complex context. We’re talking about a place where the body of the deceased president was sent to South Africa in 2012 pretending to be alive and in need of healing, all to give his brother time to take his place. The man, Peter Mutharika, managed to elect himself two years later and tried again this year, to the sounds of fraud, corruption and satisfied foreign observers. But Malawians took to the streets in protestAnd the Their judges returned to the sender the bags full of money that Mutharika had sent them, The vote was cancelled.

In June, he revolted, this time on a regular basis, and was won by Lazarus Chakwera, the president chosen by the voters. It is still a poor and problematic country, but in the meantime Malawi, To revitalize democracy in an authoritarian region, the nation of the year. He deserves the applause of the world.