Coup in Madagascar

Col. Michael Randrianirina was sworn in as president of Madagascar on Friday, following a military coup. According to the World Bank, three quarters of Madagascar’s 30 million people lived below the poverty line in 2022, and 2 in 3 lacked access to electricity. Protests against electricity and water shortages brought down the previous government in late September and early October. Randrianirina has promised to hold new elections within 18 to 24 months, but he rejected a court order to hold them within 60 days.

Madagascar’s woes are a case study in the corruption that has dogged human government throughout history. There is only one government that truly works.