Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel peace prize even though the Colombian people rejected the peace deal he had brokered with the Farc guerillas. This paper had argued that the prize be given to the heroic volunteers of the Syrian White Helmets, who showed still more of their nobility of spirit by congratulating Mr Santos. They were right to do so, and he deserves congratulations, as does the committee. The Nobel peace prize teeters every year between two dangers: giving the award to some who can make peace only because they have stopped, or at least paused, the wars they waged for years – Henry Kissinger would be the best example – and giving it to people whose sentiments are irreproachable but whose record of action is thin. President Obama deserved the thanks of the whole world for not being George W Bush in 2009, but not really the Nobel peace prize. Mr Santos falls into neither of these categories. He had made, and continued to make, efforts towards peace which have borne real fruit. The people in the war-ravaged districts of Colombia voted overwhelmingly for his settlement. What looks like defeat may be merely a setback. The prize may, as he hopes, restart the process apparently stalled by the loss of the referendum.
