On a triumphant tour of Europe just days after overseeing the rescue of 33 trapped miners from their 70-day ordeal, Chilean President Sebastián Piñera was shown the London bunker where Winston Churchill directed the fight against Hitler in World War II. He didn’t waste the symbolism. “Many people thought the rescue was impossible,” said an exuberant Piñera after having shown Churchillian determination during the rescue effort. “But we made a commitment to look for the miners as if they were our own sons.” Those modest men have been celebrated all over the world, but their billionaire President is also having his moment in the sun. Piñera has won a place in Chileans’ hearts as a leader with both compassion and can-do spirit. Even the families of the miners—hardly the natural constituency for a probusiness politician—are singing his praises. Says Liliana Ramírez, wife of the oldest miner, 63-year-old Mario Gómez: “You rarely see [leaders] in Chile move with that much passion and speed for workers like us.”
