It’s payback time for voters

It won’t be much comfort to Rishi Sunak, but he’s not the only world leader being put to the electoral sword. Joe Biden will be lucky to survive the summer as the Democrats’ presidential nominee after his disastrous debate performance. Almost every opinion poll says he’s losing to Donald Trump. In France, Emmanuel Macron bet on a snap election, daring his country to vote for Marine Le Pen’s National Rally. Voters accepted that bet and are making the French President pay. This weekend we could see Jordan Bardella, 28, asked to become the next prime minister. Justin Trudeau looks doomed as Prime Minister of Canada. Around the world, leaders are facing a reckoning.

Not so long ago, the reverse was true. Government approval ratings soared during the pandemic and the accompanying lockdowns. When Jacinda Ardern won by a landslide in October 2020, New Zealand’s borders remained shut to outsiders. Businesses were being offered government support to help keep them afloat, while those isolating with Covid were being paid up to $600 a week to stay at home.