War and Deceit

 It’s never over for the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Hamas has not disarmed and has returned only nine of the 28 bodies of dead hostages (as of October 16). It claims it needs special­ist equipment to find the rest. That’s the tip of a deal breaker.

Although the US is still gung-ho about the peace deal that has seen the IDF cease firing, Hamas has been carrying out its reprisals in Gaza against Palestinians. Moreover, the terrorists will look to recruit from among the 2,000 pris­oners released in exchange of the 20 living hostages. They can easily replenish their ranks and will not heed US President Donald Trump’s advice that Pales­tinians “[build] their people up instead of trying to tear Israel down.” Which is not to take away from Trump’s triumph: he has succeeded where sanctimonious giants had failed; it was too soon for the Nobel Peace Prize and may not take him to heaven, but he was feted across the Israeli political spectrum for getting the hostages out. Credit should also go to the IDF for dem­onstrating that Israel had to win this war for diplomacy to resume. October 7, 2023 had changed everything. Care should be taken now that Hamas doesn’t win the peace.

 Milei in a Muddle

 Javier Milei is no genius. That much has been obvious to Donald Trump for a while. But cut the man some slack and consider the entrenched poison of Per­onism in Argentina’s body politic. Sober Mauricio Macri had failed where maverick Milei believed he had already succeeded. His slash-and-burn modus operandi did some good—inflation came down to its lowest in four years, for one. But then the peso plum­meted and Milei’s party suf­fered a big defeat in elections last month. Trump’s $20 bil­lion lifeline and currency swap is aid to an ideological ally but also a shot at China whose soy­bean market was invaded by Argentina after it was closed to US farmers. Trump has made it clear the aid is only for Milei: “If he wins, we’re staying with him. And if he doesn’t win, we’re gone.” While that might recast diplomatic principles professed by the world’s most powerful democracy, Trump is facing blowback for his partisan generosity when US citizens are concerned about price rise and slow hiring, to say nothing of federal firings and government shutdown. Milei’s next test is on October 26, far sooner than next April when another Trump ally, Hungary’s far-right Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, could end up losing his first election in 15 years.

 Takaichi’s Obstacle

 Sanae Takaichi is not finding it easy to take over as Japan’s first female prime minister. Historically a worse lag­gard in gender equality than many third-world basket cases, Japan isn’t how­ever stalling Takaichi out of prejudice. Not evidently. Opposition parties are still looking to push the LDP out, breaking its near-monopoly on power since the war. Despite losing its majority in both Houses of the Diet, the LDP is still the largest party and this long-term legislator and Shinzo Abe protégée could still make history by next week. But then, unlike the late Abe, few last long in the job.