While the weary world welcomes 2022, it is not particularly nostalgic for 2021, marked by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, rising inflation and widespread international tensions. However, some had a better year than others and here is a list of the first three winners and the first three losers in the last year, presented by the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal in an article presented without editorial intervention.
Vladimir Putin. Since coming to power in 1999, the Russian president has made significant progress. Putin's victory streak continued into 2021, as Russia's support helped Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko survive Western sanctions, Russia's power spread from the Caucasus to the Balkans, and the build-up of Russian troops east of Ukraine at the end of the year, Moscow's revisionist agenda turned out to be in the spotlight around the world. Deteriorating demographics, China's growing strength and continued failure to diversify its economy by relying too heavily on oil and gas make Russia's future questionable in the long run, but for now Putin and the ruling country are on the rise.
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). To the great horror of the world's fighters against climate change, 2021 was a landmark year for fossil fuel producers. And next year looks even better. In 2021, Saudi Arabia registered a budget surplus for the first time since 2013. The Saudis are currently forecasting a 10 percent increase in oil revenues in 2022 as the pandemic weakens and demand for this energy resource increases. And it's not just about money. The lack of energy allowed the big oil producers to make the great powers play their whistle. The Biden administration hoped to take a firm stand against the Arab Gulf states on issues ranging from climate change to human rights. Instead, President Biden begs the sheikhs to limit the rise in oil prices to curb inflation in the United States.
Donald Trump. He began 2021 as one of the biggest losers in American history: a two-term president who twice faced impeachment, whose party lost control of the House of Representatives and the Senate. His senseless attempt to overturn the results of the presidential election led to a general mockery of the campaign to reverse the results of the 2020 elections and a recount, and ended in disgrace over the events of January 6th. However, in 2021 the direction of the wind changed. Trump has regained his grip on Republican policy and is a very likely contender for the 2024 presidential election. The Biden administration has largely followed Trump's policy toward China and world trade. Even Trump's controversial Stay in Mexico initiative has been revived by the courts. The uptrend in support of the Republican Party among blacks and Spanish working-class voters attracted by Trump's populism continues. With the coronavirus still out of control in America and inflation rising, Donald Trump plans to spend 2022 asking voters, "Do you miss me anymore?" And many seem willing to answer in the affirmative.
Losers:
The work of democracy. China continues to destroy the once-real freedom of Hong Kong and has not met with much international reaction. World democracies are just snorting and grumbling, but they did not create an impression of interest when Lukashenko stabilized his dictatorship in Belarus. Nothing the West could do or say softened the junta's policies in Myanmar, and democracy in Afghanistan collapsed in the face of Taliban victory and American withdrawal, and Ethiopia's promising democratic transition faded into fierce civil war. The virtual summit on democracy organized by the Biden administration had no noticeable impact on world events as the wave of global democracy continued to subside.
Xi Jinping. By ruling China without all these annoying laws and courts tying his hands like Biden's, Xi Jinping remains the most powerful man on earth. But even the strongest can have a difficult year. Taiwan has received strong support from around the world this year, and public opinion in the European Union has strongly opposed Xi's China. Lockdowns have become popular tests for the Chinese government, and the case of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai has caught the attention of the Me Too movement (a feminist movement against sexual violence and harassment that gained popularity as a result of the scandal and accusations against American film producer Harvey Weinstein). to China. Global attention has increased to the plight of the Uighurs, and the growing financial crisis has raised concerns about the future of the country's vital real estate industry. None of these events silenced Si's flattery from servants and controlled media, but it may be suspected that he was too smart to believe this flattery.
Experts and technocrats. This year was to be a year of reaffirming the high competence of scientists and health professionals at the forefront of the pandemic fight. But that did not happen. Covid-19 turned out to be a completely new and complex disease, and it took experts a long time to figure it out. However, the public urgently needed daily medical advice. Technocrats and politicians were willing to provide authoritative and clear information and advice. Unfortunately, much of this turned out to be wrong. To wear medical masks or not to wear? Closing schools or continuing classes there? Are new strains common or rare? Towards the end of the year, as the seemingly endless pandemic continued steadily, much of the population stopped paying attention to the recommendations of medical and health institutions. During the year when inflation blinded the chairman of the Federal Reserve system and the unexpectedly rapid collapse of Afghanistan stunned the White House, confidence in experts and specialists of all kinds continued to decline.
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