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Trump democracy ‘is work in progress’

Trump democracy  ‘is work in progress’
Donald Trump.
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DONALD TRUMP, the Republican candidate running against Democrat president Joe Biden in the US presidential election due on November 5, has warned: “Now, if I don’t get elected, it’s gonna be a bloodbath. That’s going to be the least of it. It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country.” 

 Nevertheless, some papers in the UK are rooting for a Trump victory.  


Meanwhile, the Indian general election will be held in seven phases between April 19 and June 1, with the result declared on June 4. Some 968 million people – 150 million more than the last elections in 2019 – are eligible to vote. Turnout in 2019 was 67 per cent.  

Will prime minister Narendra Modi win? Probably, but Indian elections are unpredictable because of the differences between north and south and the distinctive political factors in each state. West Bengal, for example, ruled by Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamul Congress, is very different from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan or Tamil Nadu.  

In the United States, in marked contrast, there were 161.42 million people registered to vote in 2022. This is a fall from the previous election, when 168.31 million people were on electoral rolls. 

 The US president is not chosen by a popular mandate, but indirectly through an electoral college, which makes that country’s system of democracy – especially the brand favoured by Trump when he has to win – work in progress. 

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Memories of Christmas past

King Charles III, Princess Anne, Princess Royal, Princess Eugenie of York, Queen Camilla and Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence attend the Christmas Morning Service at Sandringham Church on December 25, 2025 in Sandringham, Norfolk.

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Memories of Christmas past

Something struck me as I wrote my Christmas cards this year to close family and friends. Compared with last year, quite a few sadly passed away in 2025.

Each year I promise myself I will post my cards in good time but invariably I leave it till the next minute. Cards to India are very much a hit and miss affair. I think I am doing well if half the cards get through to the person intended. On occasions, I get an acknowledgement that the card, posted in December, has arrived in April the following year. Quite often, they simply vanish into the Indian ether. This is mysterious because the British left behind an excellent postal service.

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