Robert Rotberg is the founding director of the Harvard Kennedy School’s program on intrastate conflict and the author of Transformative Political Leadership and other books.
Honest, forthright, visionary leadership is essential in human and political affairs, especially in these unusually troubled times. Trust in leadership translates into legitimacy, which in turn generates broad support for public policy initiatives that may irritate sections of an electorate. Indeed, absent integrity and legitimacy, even democratic rulers struggle to lead, and to accomplish meaningful change.
Before he became president,Nelson Mandela forestalled race riots in South Africa when a leading militant was killed by white reactionaries. A little later, he simply told his own supporters, armed to the teeth though they were, that continuing to battle was harming the peace and reconciliation that he was prescribing for his country. “Listen to me,” he told a fired-up mob of fighters in 1993, when the cities were alight with mayhem and violence. “I am your leader, and I am going to give you leadership…As long as I am your leader, I will tell you, always, when you are wrong.”
Mr. Mandela possessed a deep and abiding vision. He mobilized his followers, many of whom preferred rioting rather than patience, behind that vision of a reconstructed “Rainbow Nation” free from discord and able, united, to overcome the economic, social, and political deficits of apartheid.
Mr. Mandela could not have enlisted his disparate and long-suffering peoples behind such a vision if he had not emerged from prison possessing unparalleled rational legitimacy (even before being elected president) and a deserved reputation for principled integrity. He could be forthright and decisive because his honest intent and wisdom was well-tested and believable. He exuded an uncommon affect, effectively preached and enacted inclusive behaviour, and – most of all – gave all South Africans (not just his African National Congress adherents) a newly enlarged sense of self-worth. Mr. Mandela launched a large-scale national and continental enterprise that incorporated all Africans into a global enterprise for good.
In the Ukraine, from the first month of Russia’s invasion,President Volodymyr Zelensky has given his people and the wider world a similar sense of belonging to a worthy enterprise much greater than themselves and their parochial concerns. Foremost has been his standing tall for Ukraine: “I need ammunition, not a ride” he reportedly told the American governmentin February. Ever since, he has hunkered down in Kyiv amid continuing Russian bombardments.
Like, Mandela, and the greatest of leaders, Mr. Zelensky has over and over enunciated a vision for Ukraine, for the West, and for freedom. Connecting the dots, he reminds both his national followers and responsible European, American, and NATO leaders that only by defeating President Vladimir Putin and Russia can freedom triumph in the world. If Russia represses Ukraine, the remaining flickering lights of global freedom go out.
Mr. Zelensky’s greatest triumph, at least so far, has been his lifting Western chins up high. When Westerners saw an easy Russian victory, Mr. Zelensky knew successful resistance. When they sought a cheap peace, Mr. Zelensky glimpsed total victory, or at least pushing the Russians back from central and southern Ukraine as far as feasible. Without Mr. Zelensky’s integrity and poise (and his clever generals) Mr. Putin would have waltzed into Kyiv despite the demonstrated ineptness of Russia’s forces.
Positive leadership under fire, as demonstrated so well by the examples of Mr. Mandela and Mr. Zelensky, is greatly lacking in today’s edgy environment. Leaders like Mr. Mandela and Mr. Zelensky tell it as it is. They dissemble rarely. They know themselves. They are true to their cores and can therefore be trusted by their followers – by citizens in cities, of course, but especially by the beleaguered men and women in the foxholes of hell near, say, Donetsk.
Too frequently, heads of state and heads of government prevaricate, obfuscate and outright lie. The philosopher Diogenes searched for a proverbial honest man in fourth century BC Athens. In too many contemporary capital cities, Diogenes would find few exemplary leaders. Certainly, he would be hard pressed to locate honesty in the Kremlin, where Mr. Putin’s lies – about the invasion, about his motives, about results to date, and about the nature of Ukraine and Ukrainians – are endless.
Behaving like Mr. Putin, too, are dictators such as Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega, Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen, Myanmar’s General Min Aung Hlaing, Benin’s President Patrice Talon, and many more.
Nor, given recent demonstrated artifices in the governing halls of today’s North America, could Diogenes find many whose integrity is unsullied. Where are we to find the Mandela and Zelensky-like leaders to guide North America and the rest of the free world out of this disruptive season of discontent?
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
