I was thinking the other day about how great Gerry Adams, Martin McGuinness and Ian Paisley were as leaders.
Take Gerry Adams - a staunch republican who became a very important man in the Northern Irish peace process. Without his input it’s unlikely it would have been possible.
And then there’s Martin McGuinness, a former PIRA leader, who turned things around and also became a very important political figure in NI, and was also very important in the peace process - remember he was a former PIRA leader!
Ian Paisley was probably the most charismatic politician of them all. I work with someone who lived near him and she said he was there was something in the way that he spoke that made people listen. He used his influence when he held his massive rallies in Belfast and his church was also very, very well attended. Instead of passing around collection plates they used to pass round buckets because of the money people would give.
Who do you think are the greatest leaders of our time?
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I would say Churchill for the war period. He had some serious faults and wouldn't have been suitable for a post-war government, but he could speak and motivate people and managed to keep a creaking coalition together on the basis they hated him so got on with each other.
I liked Tony Benn as well - didn't always agree with his politics but he was bright, intelligent and right about issues on more than one occasion. Similarly I like Ken Clarke - no nonsense common sense. He never patronised anybody. And Thatcher - whatever you think of her she had what it took to lead.
Outside the UK I guess Gandhi and Mandela spring to mind.
Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
Ghandi and Nelson Mandela stuck to their principles, which is a paradox for most leaders.
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Martin McGuinness formerly of the IRA going to meet the Queen at Buckingham Palace - and bowing to her - who would have imagined that thirty years ago? I would also have to put the Queen herself laying a wreath at the memorial to the 1916 rebels as a part of that too.
The same could be said of not only Nelson Mandela but also F.W. de Klerk in South Africa. The peaceful end of apartheid couldn't have happened without both of them.
Mikhail Gorbachev - he tried to reform the Soviet Union and end the Cold War, and achieved a lot, although he was ultimately overtaken by events and precipitated the collapse of the USSR.
Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia for his efforts to bring their long civl war to an end.
Also Ghandi, certainly.
He was our greatest Prime Minister. Most of what we take for granted in this country is down to him and the '45 Labour government. Churchill was the charismatic, inspirational war leader but he wasn't really a great PM - in fact, Attlee as Deputy PM during the war actually had more to do with the running of the country.
But it's quite hard to find that many truly great leaders, sadly. People who actually left the world a better place than they found it on a large scale...
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Bill Clinton was a great leader and the world felt like a safer place when he was in charge
Nelson Mandela of course.
Angela Merkel will go down in history as a great Leader
The only criticism I could level at him that whatever he achieved - he didn't prevent Sting from writing 'Russians'.
You need strong leaders, who see things through come thick or thin. Weakness is not a quality we need in a leader, and sadly, very few have it now. It remains to be seen if Theresa May does.
With the benefit of hindsight - she was unquestionably (at least until the latter part of her premiership) a great leader - even if I felt disinclined to follow her....
I think ultimately that 'conviction' politicians are the ones who gain respect - irrrspective of whether you agree with them; Tony Benn and Ken Clarke being good examples. Interesting that neither ever led their respective parties, while many less able did....
Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
Yes Mandela was a legend of his time, definitely one of the greats.
I don't really remember Gorbachev that much, most of my memory of Russian is Putin's era.
I was watching one of those Adam Curtis documentaries and he was talking about a man called Vladislav Surkov, who it seems has the say in what goes on in Russia - essentially he makes a lot of the snowballs and Putin throws them. He creates confusion in Russia and no one knows what's really going on. It was fascinating stuff.
The impact on everyday people was almost instant and after watching Ken Loach’s documentary on the NHS and the doctors, the nurses and most of all the people who’s lives changed forever because of it was truly moving. What really hit home to me though was once I bought an old Sigma acoustic guitar and looked up some reviews on YouTube to see what they were like. I came across an American fella, in his 60s who was selling his Sigma to pay for his medication and medical bills that he’d incurred recently due to an illness. Hopefully, despite every Conservative government’s best efforts the NHS remains an example to the world and is also one of the world leaders in research and is responsible for many medical breakthroughs. Long may it and the memory of Mr Bevan reign!
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Yes, I forgot about Mo also. She was also another key figure in the peace process. We need more figures like her.
Conversely, I've just had a short chat with someone from my local Labour Party who I *do* believe to be working their socks off to make a difference. The disconnect between them and the gannets 200 miles down the M6 is staggering.
The genuine 'beasts' managed to straddle that divide; they were empowering and inspiring and there's a sore lack of them at the moment. I hate the phrase 'metropolitan elite' (so beloved of Dianne Abbott) - surely people are just trying to get on, town, country, left, right. Unfortunately senior government has never looked more elite and aloof and it's the lack of kosher, born leaders that's to blame if you ask me.
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