Lawrence Wong will be only the fourth PM in Singapore’s history

IN THE REPUBLIC’S 59-year history, Singapore has had only three leaders. On May 15th it gets its fourth, when the prime minister of 20 years, Lee Hsien Loong—who is 72 and whose father, Lee Kuan Yew, ruled with an iron will for 31 years—will resign. At a ceremony at the presidential palace, Lawrence Wong, the current finance minister, will be sworn in. He is Mr Lee’s junior by two decades. Singapore now faces the prospect of a future without a Lee at the helm.

The investiture also marks when the ruling party, the People’s Action Party (PAP), passes the baton from a “3G” (third generation) of senior party cadres to the “4G” cohort who chose Mr Wong as their man. Mr Wong will then call a general election, likely sometime this year. The PAP has made sure never to lose one, and Mr Wong will certainly not lose his. He is guaranteed a majority to make the leaders of many other countries weep. Yet never think that elections do not matter to the PAP. More is at stake than meets the eye.