Link to article: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/09/singapores-leadership-succession-who-could-be-next-prime-minister.html
Late on Thursday, the Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat announced that he would be stepping aside as the designated successor to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. He will remain as deputy prime minister and coordinating minister for economic policies, but will relinquish his role as finance minister.
Analysts have identified four potential candidates who could be chosen by the leadership to become Singapore’s future prime minister: Chan Chun Sing, Ong Ye Kung, Lawrence Wong, and Desmond Lee. The deputy director for research at the National University of Singapore’s Institute of Policy Studies, Gillian Koh, states that the men listed have some experience on the international stage.
Singapore has only experienced two leadership transitions, which usually is an uneventful affair, where a successor is identified many years before the sitting prime minister steps down. The ruling People’s Action Party has governed the country since its independence in 1965.
The current prime minister, Lee, currently 69 years of age, has previously announced that he was ready to retire by the time he turns 70, but he later indicated he would delay his handover to see Singapore through the Covid-19 pandemic. On Thursday Lee stated that he would stay on as prime minister until his new successor emerges and is ready to take over.
Singapore’s planned leadership succession has been been disheveled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Singapore’s disarry within its politics is one example out of many in which nations’ political structures have been majorly affected in response to the Coronavirus. It will be crutial for Singapore to appoint a strong leader who can rebuild Singapore in a post-Covid 19 setting, as well as leading the country to a new phase that continues to strengthen and rebuild the country.
Nations from around the globe will be wondering who will fill the shoes of Singapore’s previous prime minister and how to move forward regarding relations with the upcoming nation. This new and next phase of Singapore will be determined by whoever claims the open position.