JUSTICE MALALA: Standards slip as global leaders put own interests first
The world needs principled leadership but is saddled with trigger-happy Donald Trump, incompetent Boris Johnson and power hungry Vladimir Putin
Extract
One always has to hope, of course. One always has to believe that tomorrow will be better than today, but, gosh, the global leadership stakes really don’t give one much hope. Even our optimistic president, Cyril Ramaphosa, who dreams of futuristic cities and bullet trains, would find it hard to indulge his sunny disposition given the quality of leaders we have in the world right now.
Take the US this past week. President Donald Trump and his administration have been talking up a war with Iran for months. Then on Thursday evening, after Iran shot a $130m US surveillance drone out of the sky, Trump decided to attack. Ten minutes from dropping the bombs, he pulled back.
Why? Is it because he suddenly became a peace lover? Not at all. It’s because he followed the advice of a television host, Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, over that of his advisers...
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