🇨🇱🧩 Kast’s casting

Chile’s incoming government took shape last week with the announcement of a cabinet cast list that underscores President-elect José Antonio Kast’s pro-market ambitions while exposing an early political fault line: the absence of Johannes Kaiser, the libertarian lawmaker whose support helped propel Kast to victory, but who ultimately refused to join the administration.

Kast framed his 24-member cabinet as an “emergency government,” a phrase he has used repeatedly ahead of his March 11 inauguration. 

The cabinet is more striking for what it lacks than what it includes. Of the 24 ministers, 16 are not affiliated with a political party. Many come directly from the private sector, with limited government experience. According to people close to the transition, Kast’s primary selection criterion was personal trust. All picks were also required to pass a drug test…

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