February is a difficult time of year to keep blogging, but many things have happened in Chile since my last posting. I have been itching to comment on the president-elect's insistance on returning to the pacted democracy of the 1990s, but I think I will leave that until later. But this week's announcement of the new cabinet is worth a comment as well.
In fact, in both cases, the conclusion is similar. Beyond the usual comments that have already circulated widely in Chile -- that this is a businessman's cabinet (by and for business), there is a detail that has been less observed. Both the cabinet and the rhetoric on pacted democracy are about dividing the Concertacion, weakening or splitting the coalition and minimising opposition.
There are some good people in the new cabinet (it's the least we could have expected), but given the amount of talent that presumably exists in the private universities, the right's think tanks, and the country's boardrooms, the total list is pretty unimpressive. My biggest 'WTF?' goes to the selection of the foreign minister.
.
No comments:
Post a Comment