Singapore Has Voted for Safety and Familiarity Amid Anxiety

The ruling party should pay close attention to people's concerns

- KARISHMA VASWANI

Singapore's ruling party was always going to win this election, but in a world rocked by American unpredictability, the trade-dependent island reached for security. The People's Action Party (PAP), which has been in power since before the city-state became independent in 1965, won a resounding mandate. It's a sign of how insecure voters are feeling about the future. The party would be wise to pay attention to them.

Under the PAP, Singapore has transformed into Asia's richest nation, but it's also among the most unequal. Citizens live in what Freedom House ranks as only a partly free society. Opposition parties have struggled to gain ground in a system they describe as stacked against them, and say the PAP has built-in advantages when it comes to setting the terms of the election—claims it denies.

Still, the message that the party knows best how to steer the country through global uncertainty clearly resonated.

Voters in Singapore, like those in many countries, are anxious about bread-and-butter issues—the cost of living, housing and whether their children will have stable job prospects. The PAP should not let them down.