War of words better than a real war - 2016 was a year of changes

AT the beginning of a new year most people reflect on the one that has just gone and ponder about what will happen in the months to come. There is little doubt that 2016 has, in global political terms, been a momentous year, one in which certainty was turned on its head.

When the people of the United Kingdom voted in June to leave the European Union there was a collective gasp throughout Europe and beyond. Nobody — not even the Leave campaigners — expected it to happen and most people were left floundering as a result. It was as if a 500-1 shot had won the Grand National and not even its owner had placed a bet on it.

Just when we felt that things could not get any stranger, Donald Trump beat Hilary Clinton in the race to become the next US president. Nobody — not even the professional pollsters — saw that one coming, either. It was as if our collective mindset could not comprehend such an appalling vista.