Someone asked what can we look forward to in the new year 2009? Thought it was a timely question. Instead of making resolutions, let's look at what the future holds. Mankind is such that they take a keen interest to know the future, hence horoscopes have a good following even till today though the accuracy of their forecasts is not done scientifically. We also have soothsayers and fortune tellers who would gladly take you on an excursion into your future life. I have often heard of people who consult mediums to find out if they should do this, that or the other. But dabbling in the future can be a risky business. Analysts, economists and those who try to peep into the future can tell you. Take the current economic climate. How many learned economists and analysts were proven wrong. Nightly I watched the TV and could see how many of them would have lost their credibility if they were taken to task on their forecasts. The smarter ones of course put a caveat to their forecasts.
Never mind that, but coming back to what to expect in 2009? I think it would be safe to say it will be an interesting year where there will be a lot of anticipation. The first is the new Obama team taking office at the White House and how they are going to steer the US economy and with it the world out of the current quagmire. Their policies will impact on the Middle East politics but not so much for Europe. The European continent are more likely to be steered by Russia, France, Britain. In Asia, there are two major events to look forward to, namely the changing of the guards in Malaysia, and the outcome of Thai politics. The absence of the Thai King from his annual address to the nation on his birthday on 4th Dec created a lot of speculation. There were talks of spilt within the high office whether to support the yellow shirts or the red shirts. Malaysia's new political leadership will have to show how much influence it can yield to stave off a power grab by the opposition. Indonesia is another cauldron where a new political leader may emerge. The pot is brewing and some posturing by the key players are expected to be more pronounced in early 2009. Well even in Singapore there may be some interesting developments as it tries to steer itself out of the recession. China is not expected to see changes in its leadership and focus is more on economics than politics. Australia is feel an unease with the change in government in New Zealand. The conservatives are in after more than a decade of absence. Kevin Rudd remains popular in Australia though some reports said he lost some points. It is still early days for Australia elections.
Let's see how we fare after the first three months of next year with our forecast, or outlook on politics.
The first quarter of the year would set the tone for much of the rest of 2009. So it will be an interesting Jan-March if you ask me.
