Karishma Vaswani, Columnist

Singaporeans Voted for Safety In a Chaotic World

Donald Trump’s trade war has made citizens nervous.

May 3, 2025 at 6:32 PM UTC

Karishma Vaswani is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asia politics with a special focus on China. Previously, she was the BBC's lead Asia presenter and worked for the BBC across Asia and South Asia for two decades.

A resounding victory for Singapore’s ruling party, and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
Photographer: Ore Huiying/Bloomberg

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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, 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.

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