Looking back to the G8 summit held earlier this month, hosted by Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, in Heiligendamm, I could not help but muse at the fact that of all the leaders representing the club of wealthy nations and Russia Tony Blair was the most charismatic.
By Charisma I mean, he is/was the only leader present at the event who was of the John F Kennedy ilk. The politician that knew how to respond to the cameras and when to turn on the charminator (Charm offensive). Tony Blair is the only politician present at the event that struddled the middle ground of politics. OK! Lets list the leaders and their respective countries below:
For lack of understanding and to avoid divisive opinion, I will struddle the middle ground and say that in my life time I have not seen an electifying politician, a crowd pleaser, stem from Germany (I stand to be corrected) and therefore will not comment on Angela Merkel.
Nicolas Sarkozy actually encapsulates my opinion to the fullest. He is the sort of politician who alienates the electorate. He cuts down the middle and declares his side, with the sole aim of thwarting the opposition. He is a rightist politician whom, if you as a member of the electorate do not subscribe to his views will feel inclined to despise of him. Those who like Sarkozy, think he is the best thing since sliced bread, but equally those who do not, actually despise and detest him as a person and his views. (I will not get into the riots)
If one was to compare him to Jacques Chirac his predecessor you see the contrast. In the not so distant future we are bound to start seeing/hearing expose's of Chirac's blanders to which he was immune from any prosecution because of the French constitution, but the point is the French electorate were well aware of his shortcomings but always voted him back into power. Sound familiar? More on that later.
Stephen Harper and Shinzo Abe are politicians who are facing the same situation. They are in charge of countries that have very sound economies but, consider Mr. Abe. His predecessor Junichiro Koizumi was a huge fan of Elvis Presley. He was a rock n roll politician, a maverick who felt obligated to the people. If the parliament disagreed with him, he reached out to the people via the media and eventually got what he wanted. As for Mr. Abe, to date, it seems that everything he tries seems to be stalemate.
Similarly, Mr Harper the conservative PM of Canada, is the leader of a very fragile minority government and is likely to be returning to the polls before the first term is over. According to Wikipedia, "Harper has insisted on his right to choose who asks questions at press conferences, which has caused the national media to lodge complaints Some have alleged that the Prime Minister's Office also "often informs the media about Harper's trips at such short notice that it's impossible for Ottawa journalists to attend the events". Make of that what you may.
As for Romano Prodi it is difficult not to run a comparison between him and his predecessor Silvio Berlusconi, who was born by the media for the media. Mr Berlusconi, a media mogul himself knew how to pander to the media and did everything to ensure that the media spotlight was focused on him (not his policies) as a person. Mr Berlusconi, during his reign had 90% control of the Italian media. Need I say more? As for Mr Prodi, well he is not Berlusconi.
If I get into George W Bush, then this article will be way too long and deviate from the point somewhat. Ironically, the many blanders that president Bush has pulled off infront of the media (vis a vis the world) has somewhat endeared him to the masses. He is the complete antithesis of his predecessor President Bill Clinton who embraced the media and knew how to work the press. He, President Clinton, knew how to use self deprication to great effect and anyhow he got away with the Monica Lewinsky scandal so that's that. Bush apparently has the "Christian right"on his side which seems to have created a division in American politics and similar to Sarkozy, those who do not like Bush seem to detest him but those who love him absolutely adore him.
As for Vladimir Putin, I will leave it at he is different. I am not that informed of Russian politics to speak on it but I know he is capable of using the charm offensive if necessary, but this seems to be geared towards the international press rather than local.
As Gordon Brown readies himself to take over from Tony Blair it is a well known fact that his advisors have been trying to get him to be more media savvy. This is vital because the present leader of the Conservative party David Cameron is a very charismatic, media personality, especially if you consider the fact that he is a former PR man. What will be interesting is come the time for elections in Britain and David Cameron is pitted against Gordon Brown, if the electorate is in line with all other countries in terms of whom they elect, then the media savvy personality might just struggle. Aaaaaaaah!! the irony.
1 comment:
Bush is pretty good at self-deprecating humour. I actually think that he may have delivered some of the funniest speeches by a president during his White House Correspondent dinners.
His problem is that he's as dumb as they get; not a lack of charisma. He's considered pretty likeable by those who know him and those who knew him during his college days.
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