LettersIn a year of elections, could centrist winds blow from the UK to the US?

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As 2023 ended, I felt a terrible despondency. It seemed the world was moving further away from the centre, with the woke left or rabid right drowning out the rest.

Indonesia saw a compromise early this year when Prabowo Subianto dialled back his connection to the country’s authoritarian past and allied with the moderate Joko Widodo to win the presidential election.

India delighted advocates of genuine democracy as the people proved almost all exit polls wrong in returning a diminished Prime Minister Narendra Modi to power. His Bharatiya Janata Party now has to share power with allies, including two state leaders who depend on Muslim support. It is another correction towards the middle.

Perhaps the most promising and unexpected election outcome is the choice of Masoud Pezeshkian as Iran’s new president, the first reformist in 20 years. It is telling that the establishment sensed the mood of the wider populace and allowed the nomination of Pezeshkian in the first place. His campaign was based around women, youth and negotiation with the West. His win might just be a turning point.