politics
Capital idea for a present
What do you give a man who has everything, or at least the seemingly permanent presidency of a big Central Asian republic? You rename its capital in his honour, of course.
That is how Sat Tokpakbayev, a member of the one-party parliament and former Kazakhstani defence minister, wanted to mark the 68th birthday next month of President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
In suggesting in parliament that Astana change its name to “Nursultan”, Mr Tokpakbayev achieved the near-impossible: distinguishing himself for sycophancy from the mass of other well-wishers, not least those in parliament. His proposal was at once enthusiastically endorsed by an estimated 90% of the deputies. (The others, all also members of the president’s party, Nur-Otan, must be ruing their absence that day.)
(The Economist)
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