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Why judge leaders and how to judge them

09 Jun 2022

  • What citizens expect in those that lead them
BY Sumudu Chamara After a prolonged silence, on Monday (6), President Gotabaya Rajapaksa made a bold statement with regard to the demands for his resignation, and claimed that he has failed as a President. In a discussion with Bloomberg, he said that he will not leave as a failed President, and intends to remain in the position to complete the rest of his five-year tenure.  While claims of “sir fail” continue to remain at the heart of the ongoing anti-President/Government movement, questions that should perhaps receive more attention would be who decides whether the President has failed, and on what grounds.  Speaking with The Morning, several members of the public sought to answer these questions. Making decisions to run a country According to 41-year-old former teacher Samadhi Chandani, there is only one way to measure a leader’s success, and that is by gauging how they lead the country. How they lead the country, she said, depends on how educated, experienced (in leadership roles), and humble they are, and most importantly, how intelligent they are. She noted that one quality without the others is useless and can be destructive.  When questioned as to how these qualities could be judged, she explained: “The decisions our leaders take is the best way to do that. Let us take the incumbent President as an example. He, and others under him in the Government, took the initiative to introduce the destructive organic-only agriculture plan, decided not to seek International Monetary Fund (IMF) assistance until it was too late, forcefully maintained the value of the Sri Lankan rupee against the US dollar at Rs. 200, allocated an unnecessary amount of funds for the defence sector, and refused to leave their positions within the Government. These are all indicators of incompetent and selfish leaders. They cannot give themselves a character certificate saying that they did not fail. It is the people who should issue them their character certificate and the people have rightfully concluded that the President and others in his Government have failed.”  Referring to the above-mentioned statement by the President, Chandani further said that it is now the people who have actually received an opportunity to evaluate the President’s competency.  “When it comes to the incumbent President, the people did not see any of the said qualities in him. He had no experience as a leader. Nobody knew how educated he was. And he was not known as a humble person either. But due to the security-related concerns that prevailed at that point in time, he was elected President. We did not have the time, patience, or a good political or social environment to assess the President’s suitability to run the country, and also, we had to make a quick decision within a short period of time, in a volatile situation. The President should not regard this delay as a sign that the people accepted him as a competent leader. The people just needed more time to assess his competency through his decisions.” Sensitive leaders Thirty-three-year-old tailor R.V. Kanchana, was of the opinion that above all other qualifications, a leader should have humanity, and emphasised that if leaders do not care about the country and the people, they will not serve in the best interests of the people, regardless of other qualifications. He pointed out several recent incidents which he said are indicative of the leaders’ insensitivity. “So-called leaders of almost all governments have provided many examples that prove my argument. We saw how, until the last moment, the President and former Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage defended their decision to impose regulations against the importation of chemical fertilisers despite the fact that the entire country was suffering due to that decision. Even when farmers pointed out the consequences of the Government’s decision – mainly a decline in the harvest – the then-agricultural authorities conducted a study and provided statistics to claim that the damage is not as severe as what the farmers claim. Even the leaders of the former United National Front (UNF)-led Government have shown similar insensitivity in the Central Bank Treasury Bond scam incident. They gambled with a massive amount of people’s money, but did not show a sign of regret. What is more, they are continuing to downplay the gravity of what happened.” Responding to the question as to whether a leader being sensitive is sufficient to run a country, Kanchana added: “First of all, we should realise that a leader does not have to know everything. The knowledge and educational aspects come from educated and experienced officials who act as Ministry officials, heads of public institutions, and advisors to political leaders including the President, the Prime Minister, and the Ministers.  “Despite a leader’s education being an important factor, Sri Lankans almost never question an election candidate’s educational background, and therefore, it is not an important factor in the Sri Lankan context. We have to question what kind of a person we think is a good leader who can pass the people’s tests. Merely because a leader is educated or experienced does not make them a good decision maker. They may take decisions that may look prudent according to what they have learnt; however, they may not be in favour of the people. But when a leader is sensitive to the concerns and interests of the people, they try to find a way to make people-friendly decisions.” Personal qualities A person who does not have good personal qualities cannot be a successful leader, according to 45-year-old private bank employee Lalani Perera (not her real name), who also noted that due to this reason, a leader’s personal qualities should be the yardstick used to measure their success as a political leader.  She explained: “It is true that a leader’s decisions determine whether they succeed as a leader or not. But, it is their personal qualities that decide how they make decisions. An egotistical leader will never listen to others’ opinions and will do whatever they want. But a leader who is open to new ideas will take into consideration what others have to say, and will eventually make better decisions. In fact, good public relations’ (PR) qualities are necessary for a leader. When it comes to positions such as the presidency, they are extremely important, because a President cannot function alone.  “Imagine what the country would be like if the President took every decision of his own accord? In the current context, Sri Lanka can really use good international relations-related skills and it is a personal quality that Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe seems to have. I am not saying that he is a perfect leader, but we see more international-level discussions regarding Sri Lanka’s economic situation happening now than we did during the former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s tenure. I think that good international relations skills he is said to have, or his ability to smoothly handle situations between people of different backgrounds, is a good personal quality, especially given the importance of the international support the country needs.” Perera opined that in this context, how leaders’ qualities can be put to good use in different times and contexts is also a factor that decides whether a leader is successful. Re-electing failures Thirty-year-old private sector worker L. Janaka Samaranayake, however, opined that even though identifying leaders’ successes and failures is important, voters taking those successes and failures into account when electing leaders is more important.  He explained: “I do not think that identifying whether a leader has succeeded or failed in his/her position is a difficult task. Through their actions, decisions, statements, and attitudes, the people can easily measure that. In fact, leaders do not even have to admit that they failed, as people can decide their success way earlier than the leaders themselves can.  “This discussion should be taken to the next level. That is where we discuss whether leaders have learnt from their mistakes, and whether the people, or voters, have learnt from their mistake of re-electing failed leaders. Unfortunately, Sri Lanka is far from thinking about these. We keep re-electing leaders who have proven to be incompetent countless times. Not only incompetent politicians, but even convicted murderers and frauds, racists, misogynists, and politicians who have done nothing for the country have sat in Parliament.” In this context, he said, the people have a huge responsibility to go beyond merely questioning as to whether the President or any other politician has failed. They should, at least now, start making judicious decisions at elections on the basis of politicians’ failures or successes. “If the people took into account candidates’ previous failures and successes before voting for them, they would not be in a position where they have to protest demanding that the leaders they elected resign,” Samaranayake stressed. As some who spoke with The Morning stated, while the discussion on what leaders failed and how they failed have been discussed for a long time, politicians who are considered failures keep getting re-elected. At the same time, these politicians keep failing to learn from their mistakes, due to, among other reasons, not being rejected by the people. Therefore, the question as to whether leaders have failed should be the beginning of a wider discussion on the people’s decision-making abilities. If the people do not take decisions at elections based on politicians’ track record of successes, what is the point of even discussing it?  


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