Unwavering, steady messaging pays off for PM Wong and PAP

Party stuck to its core message of building a strong team for a good government

- Linette Lai

Historically, the PAP's national vote share dips after a new prime minister takes office, but Prime Minister Lawrence Wong reversed the trend by securing a clear and unexpected mandate of 65.57 per cent on May 3.

When Mr Lee Hsien Loong led the PAP into battle for the first time in 2006, the party's vote share slipped nearly 9 percentage points, even if it was from the anomalous result of the 2001 polls, called weeks after the Sept 11, 2001 terror attacks in America.

The PAP vote share also fell in 1991, which was Mr Goh Chok Tong's first general election as prime minister.

In contrast, in 2025, PM Wong improved on the ruling party's 2020 vote share of 61.23 per cent.

What explains the electorate's huge swing in the PAP's favour this year?

Part of the answer lies in the PAP's characterisation of what was at stake. Throughout the nine-day campaign, PM Wong remained unwavering in his appeal: Vote for us to give Singapore its best shot at navigating a turbulent world.

His steady, consistent messaging set the tone. Rather than being forced to debunk opposition narratives—as it had in 2020 with the WP's successful call for "no blank cheque"—the PAP seized the initiative from the beginning and never let go.

During the hustings, the WP repeatedly questioned Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong's value to the PAP's leadership team. But the ruling party's performance in Punggol GRC, where Mr Gan won with 55.17 per cent of the vote, shows that these attempts to undermine the PAP's narrative did not quite stick.

Even so, the PAP's message would have resonated with the discerning Singaporean electorate only if voters believed the ruling party could deliver on its promises in a crisis.