Will Lee Hsien Loong call for an early election? Watch the Singapore Budget to find out
- Observers say the budget, set to be unveiled on February 18, will offer the strongest indication on early polls
- All eyes will be on the man announcing the budget, Heng Swee Keat, who’s tipped to be the next prime minister
Still, as the prime minister does his final sums on whether to call general elections in 2019 – a year before his government’s mandate ends – the trajectory of the tariff battle is likely to weigh the heaviest on his decision, observers say.
For some time, pundits have been suggesting that Lee would find it hard to resist calling early polls.
Factors in his favour include the expected bounce in public sentiment his ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) could benefit from as the country commemorates its “bicentennial” – the 200th anniversary of the landing of British colonialist Sir Stamford Raffles.
The PAP, co-founded by the republic’s independence leader and current prime minister’s father Lee Kuan Yew, will also mark its 60th year in power in June.
Calling early elections also fits into Lee’s previously stated hope to initiate his successor in the next election and stand down by the time he turns 70 in 2022.
After an uncharacteristically protracted selection process, the PAP in November announced Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat had been chosen by “fourth generation” ministers as their leader – effectively making him Singapore’s prime-minister-in-waiting.