Singapore’s election outcome this week is set to provide a rare moment of relative certainty for its citizens, as Donald Trump’s trade war changes the world on which the country has built its wealth since independence 60 years ago.
Barring an almost unthinkable upset, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will extend the dominance of his People’s Action party with its 16th consecutive victory on Saturday, making it one of the most entrenched political forces in the world.
But much else is in flux for the city-state of 6mn. An era of unbroken globalisation — which helped raise Singapore’s GDP from about $12bn in 1980 to more than $500bn — is under threat from Trump’s tariffs and tensions between the US and China, two of Singapore’s most important trade partners.