What if the coronavirus pandemic delayed an election and no one cared? That’s pretty much what’s happening in New Zealand, where Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern appears to be cruising towards victory in an election this Saturday after rival politicians sought postponement from the original September 19 date. At a time when America is tearing itself apart over the crises of ...

The pandemic has prompted governments to take a more active role in managing their economies. Politicians are giving out generous loan guarantees and subsidising wages to reduce the risk of a wave of bankruptcies and mass unemployment. The next step is taking over companies directly. After a spree of recent acquisitions — from payment systems to airlines — Italy appears ...

China’s leaders recognise the importance of symbolism. Decisions such as the positioning of officials at public events, even the order in which names are read out on news bulletins, delineate relative power relationships. Those who can interpret the arcane signals of communist protocol have built careers out of it. The discipline even has a name: tea-leaf reading. In this light, ...