Teflon-coated: Why Modi remains popular despite many crises staring India

Unlike his peers in other countries, Modi has figured out that seeming to act boldly matters more than being right

India’s Covid-19 cases continue to climb, even as the economy tanks. China is pressing forward on the two countries’ disputed Himalayan border, where dozens of Indian soldiers have been killed. Tax revenues have plummeted, state governments are unhappy and 21 million of India’s rare salaried jobs vanished in the last few months. And yet Prime Minister Narendra Modi — who recently posted pictures of himself feeding peacocks in his serene garden — remains as popular as ever.

How does Modi do it? While they have responded to the coronavirus in different ways, many of his fellow populists are struggling. Mexico’s Andres