Strictly ballroom

WHEN Fidel Ramos steels his eyes and chomps on his trademark cigar in contemplative mood, many Filipinos suspect what he is up to: weighing the odds, thinking through strategies and working out an end-game. After all, the 69-year-old former general was something of a psychological-warfare expert back in the days when he hunted down terrorists. That Mr Ramos was this week prepared to risk damaging the Philippine economy by preserving uncertainty over his intentions to stand again as president suggests this is a political gamble he believes he is certain to win.