The idea of Moro is enticing, but what about his politics?

In November, when former Justice Minister Sergio Moro filed his pre-candidacy for Brazil’s 2022 presidential election, he did so with the hope of rattling the status quo and offering an alternative to voters displeased with the two frontrunners. Pundits and much of the mainstream media got on board, championing the former federal judge as Brazil’s most credible “third-way” option, suggesting he could dislodge far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro and face polling leader and former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in a runoff vote.

However, two months later, the fever has broken and Sergio Moro’s polling numbers are already stagnant, amid the ambiguity of his presidential platform and a general realization that he might not have what it takes to occupy Brazil’s top job.

“What does [Mr.] Moro know about the Brazilian drama? Of mass unemployment, (…) inflation, and the destruction of industry? What are the proposals, perceptions, and experience that he can offer to Brazilians?” asked Ciro Gomes, one of Mr. Moro’s competitors in the presidential election field, during an interview to CNN Brasil. “He’s like an intern who wants to become president.”

Soon after announcing his run for president, Mr. Moro told a CNN Brasil interviewer that it would be “simple” to end poverty in the country, demonstrating a superficial understanding of what is a complex problem. “Sometimes the solution is something simple, a lack of employment, opportunities to study. In other words, we need to help people be rescued from this cycle of poverty.”

Throughout his public career as a judge — principally during his spell at the head of Operation Car Wash — Sergio Moro’s leading and apparently sole cause was the fight...