Hello from London, I’ll shortly be crossing the English Channel to spend my holidays in a favourite corner of France. A rather subdued France. I was in the stadium in Paris when les Bleus won the 1998 World Cup—and then partied in the streets until dawn. No party this time. After a thrilling 3-3 draw, in which their brilliant young star, Kylian Mbappé, scored all their goals, Lionel Messi’s Argentina saw them off in a penalty shoot-out, and the celebrations are taking place in Buenos Aires instead. For a considered analysis of what the win means to Argentina—a country with more than its share of troubles lately—read the article we published last night from our correspondent there. For all the happiness in Argentina, however, I can reveal that it will not be our country of the year. Last week I asked for your suggestions on this and our digital mailbox was crammed. Among your ideas were proposals to recognise Brazil (for avoiding autocracy), Estonia (for its defiance in the face of threats from Russia), Lesotho (for avoiding coups and other calamities), Morocco (for footballing reasons), and the United States (in part for leading international efforts to defend Ukraine). We’ll publish our choice—and the reasoning behind it—in a couple of days. The festive season is almost here, but we will keep tracking plenty of stories. A potentially huge one is the spread of covid-19 in China. This past weekend authorities in Shanghai told the city’s schools to halt in-person classes and to adopt remote learning, in an effort to slow the advance of the virus. Sadly, that won’t be enough. Early in 2023, as many city-dwellers return to their home towns and villages to visit their extended families, the Omicron variant will spread to places where hospitals are ill-equipped to cope with a surge of infections. Our data team has been modelling potential outcomes: in the worst scenario this winter covid could claim as many as 1.5m Chinese lives. And there will be no let up in Ukraine, as Russia’s senseless war continues. In recent days we’ve published a variety of interviews: with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky; with General Valery Zaluzhny, who has served as the country’s top soldier for the past year and a half; and with Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrsky, the head of Ukraine’s ground forces, who masterminded the defence of Kyiv in the spring and the spectacular counter-offensive in Kharkiv province in September. Their warnings are stark: more Russian aggression, and perhaps a big offensive, are looming. There’s every chance that we’ll be talking about Donald Trump some more in the coming days. The blame for the Republicans’ poor showing in the midterm elections, in November, is largely his. His various legal woes are not easing. The committee investigating the mob—the one he whipped up—that stormed the Capitol in January 2021 will soon issue its report. On top of all this, polling data suggest that Mr Trump’s popularity with his base could be softening. It’s a moment to ask if the swing towards populism in Western democracies might, at last, be coming to an end. Let me recommend some reading lists, in case you have time to spare in the coming couple of weeks. We introduced “Economist reads” as a new feature in 2022, and these have proved a hit. Three favourites that I’d suggest: the books you should read in order to understand football (it’s never too late), to grapple with modern France and to become a better chef. In the coming days look out for the double issue of The Economist. It’ll be crammed with wonderful features, ranging from discussions of dog breeds, to the philosophy of Silicon Valley and a reflection on Tang poetry. Online we’ll keep publishing news and analysis throughout the holidays, and we’ll share some of my favourite Christmas features from the archive. I’ll be taking a break from this newsletter for a couple of weeks, as I devote the festive period to glasses of Bordeaux beside the fire instead. Let me wish you a wonderful end to the year—and an even better next one. Write to me with your predictions for what 2023 will bring, in Ukraine, China, America or beyond, at economisttoday@economist.com. And you’re most welcome to follow me on Twitter. Adam Roberts, Digital editor Our new subscriber- |
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