Singapore: 'From Third World to First'

As Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong prepared to step down in 2022, Singapore faced a number of pressing challenges, from popular discontent at home to geopolitical tensions abroad. The country had become very rich after decades of successful economic management, but electoral support for the ruling People’s Action Party had waned, prompting its leadership to reevaluate its approach to certain issues. Lee’s anointed successor, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong, promised to “refresh the social compact” while also maintaining strategies that had propelled Singapore’s success thus far. Could Lawrence Wong strike the necessary balance between continuity and change?