Sorry Andrew but countries run by elites always devolve into hellholes ... For reasons unknown elites tend to feather their own nests and the nests of their friends AND then they start to fear the people they're ripping off.
Andrew - the reason you think it would be different here is because you see yourself as belonging to the ‘elites’ who run the place. But tell me, WHAT country run by self appointed ‘elites’ would you like to live in WHERE YOU WERE NOT part of the ruling class?
Come on Andrew - give me your list... Any South American hellholes? Or those in the ME? Cuba? North Korea? China? Iran? Different ideologies but these hellholes all have one thing in common - they're run by leaders who are sure they're ‘oh so much smarter’ than the people...Wake up Andrew.
Not to defend the guy, but he's probably thinking of Europe (the EU, Britain, Scandinavia), rather than the rest of the world.