[civsoc-mw] Economist, country of the year

Fri Dec 18 08:01:30 CAT 2020

KB,
Say that again.
The case was broadcast live. Tippex was all over the place.
Some results recorded on a piece of paper torn from a standard 4 exercise
book.

Signing forms declaring the  winner on the way to swearing ceremony. Ndiye
wins nkumati judicial coup. Kungoti bongowu umagwiritsidwa ntchito
mosiyana.

On Thu, 17 Dec 2020, 22:31 Keyboard Boyd Kilembey, <kkilembe at gmail.com>
wrote:

> People like you can easily cause world war 3 with your backward thinking
> and non acceptance to the rule of law
>
> On Thu, 17 Dec 2020, 18:53 Stanley Nazombe, <stanley.nazombe at verizon.net>
> wrote:
>
>> This is crap masquerading as journalism. What happened in Malawi was
>> judicial coup period.
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Keyboard Boyd Kilembey <kkilembe at gmail.com>
>> To: civsoc-mw at sdnp.org.mw
>> Sent: Thu, Dec 17, 2020 10:47 am
>> Subject: Re: [civsoc-mw] Economist, country of the year
>>
>> They are spot on. Congratulations all malawians
>>
>> On Thu, 17 Dec 2020, 16:42 , <cammack at mweb.co.za> wrote:
>>
>>
>> https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/12/19/which-is-the-economists-country-of-the-year
>>
>>
>> *Admiration nationWhich is The Economist’s country of the year?*
>> The most-improved country is one where people stood up for democracy
>> *Leaders <https://www.economist.com/leaders/>*Dec 19th 2020 edition
>> <https://www.economist.com/printedition/2020-12-19>
>> ------------------------------
>> Dec 19th 2020
>>
>>    -
>>
>> IN MOST YEARS most countries improve in various ways. In 2020, however,
>> premature death and economic contraction became the new normal, and most
>> countries aspired only to dodge the worst of it. Inevitably, our shortlist
>> of most-improved countries includes some that merely avoided regressing
>> much.
>> Few people would argue that life in *New Zealand* was better in 2020
>> than in 2019. But the virus has been contained. When only 100 cases had
>> been detected, the prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, closed the borders,
>> locked down the country and urged its “team of 5m” (ie, the whole
>> population) to be kind to each other. Only 25 Kiwis have died and life has
>> more or less returned to normal. Rugby stadiums finished the season packed
>> with fans. The amiable Ms Ardern was re-elected with a majority in a
>> country where such things are almost unheard of.
>> *Taiwan* has done even better, with only seven deaths and a far stronger
>> economic performance. Leave aside whether Taiwan is a country or merely a
>> contender for “de facto self-governing territory of the year”. It kept the
>> virus at bay without closing schools, shops or restaurants, much less
>> imposing lockdowns. Its economy is one of the few expected to have grown in
>> 2020. It also showed courage, refusing to back down despite relentless
>> threats from Beijing. China’s government often says that Taiwan must be
>> reunited with the mainland. It has been sending warships and fighter jets
>> ever closer to the island, ever more often. Yet in January Taiwanese voters
>> spurned a presidential candidate who favoured warmer ties with China and
>> re-elected Tsai Ing-wen, whose government has been sheltering democracy
>> activists from Hong Kong. Taiwan is a constant reminder that Chinese
>> culture is perfectly compatible with liberal democracy.
>> These achievements are impressive. However, the pandemic is not yet over
>> and to judge a country on its covid-fighting record is to focus on specific
>> forms of good governance when circumstances of geography and genes make
>> comparisons hard. Being an island helps. Some populations may have immunity
>> to coronaviruses. So it is worth considering other candidates.
>> The *United States* did almost as badly as Britain, Italy and Spain in
>> its response to covid-19, but its Operation Warp Speed was central to
>> bringing about a vaccine in record time. And by rejecting President Donald
>> Trump in November, American voters did their bit to curb the spread of
>> populism—another global scourge. Mr Trump’s efforts to overturn the will of
>> those voters were unprecedented for a sitting president, but the judges he
>> appointed were loyal to the law, not the man who picked them.
>> Voters in *Bolivia*, too, restored a measure of normality. After a
>> fraud-tainted election, the overthrow of a socialist president, violent
>> protests and the vengeful, incompetent rule of an interim president, the
>> Andean nation held a peaceful re-run ballot in October and picked a
>> technocrat, Luis Arce.
>> But this year’s prize goes to a country in southern Africa. Democracy and
>> respect for human rights regressed in 80 countries between the start of the
>> pandemic and September, reckons Freedom House, a think-tank. The only place
>> where they improved was *Malawi*.
>> To appreciate its progress, consider what came before. In 2012 a
>> president died, his death was covered up and his corpse flown to South
>> Africa for “medical treatment”, to buy time so that his brother could take
>> over. That brother, Peter Mutharika, failed to grab power then but was
>> elected two years later and ran for re-election. The vote-count was rigged
>> with correction fluid on the tally sheets. Foreign observers cynically
>> approved it anyway. Malawians launched mass protests against the “Tipp-Ex
>> election”. Malawian judges turned down suitcases of bribes and annulled it.
>> A fair re-run in June booted out Mr Mutharika and installed the people’s
>> choice, Lazarus Chakwera. Malawi is still poor, but its people are
>> citizens, not subjects. For reviving democracy in an authoritarian region,
>> it is our country of the year. ■
>>
>> This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under
>> the headline "Admiration nation"
>>
>>
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