Job search: a leader for the country

When I ask my father who was the best president in the country, he closes his eyes and his memory takes him back in time. He opens his eyes and without hesitation says: “Frondizi”. That is, 60 years ago. I rebuke him again and ask him if he really doesn’t remember another: “No, because he was a statesman.”

It seems that the country was plunged into a lethargy where the statesmen fell asleep or simply did not appear. We Argentines get used to deciding on the hour everything related to our financial life, because today’s dollar is not the same as tomorrow’s; we became economists to be able to distinguish the official dollar, the MEP, the blue, the wholesaler, the tourist, the cash with liqui and the list goes on. Obviously we also know what the country risk is. We don’t quite understand why, but we know that it always goes up. It is that we do not trust our leaders or those who hold the formal mandate. We prefer to take care of ourselves. very sad

In January 1965, Sir Winston Churchill, the former British Prime Minister who led his nation through World War II, died. The news of the anniversary went unnoticed in the country, but it is always a good time to reflect on what a true statesman can teach the vernacular pseudo-leaders.

Churchill was able to visualize the future that the world held when Hitler advanced on Europe incorporating territory without the world leaders reacting firmly. He never trusted Hitler and considered that the Führer was deceiving everyone and was waiting his turn to strike. On October 5, 1938, six days after the Munich Pact, which guaranteed the surrender of the Sudetenland to Germany, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain appeared before Parliament to defend the agreement. Almost all of Parliament supported him, but Churchill took the floor to explain what the consequences of the pact would be for him and predicted the coming events: “You had to choose between humiliation and war, you chose humiliation and it will lead us to war”. So it was. Churchill had clear ideas and defended them beyond prevailing opinions. It is that a good leader does not change his mind permanently, because he confuses.

When Chamberlain’s government falls, Churchill takes over and leads the country in perhaps the most complex and darkest hours. In his first message to Parliament, he clearly states what awaits the country: “I have nothing to offer but blood, effort, tears and sweat” and he and the nation pledged to use all resources until victory was achieved. A good leader provides clear guidance to his fellow citizens, because that guidance allows serenity in the storm.

It was clear that Churchill was the only one who could unite and lead the nation. So much so that the Labor Party, despite all the mistrust they had of Churchill for his anti-socialist ideas, considered that he was the only person who, due to his commitment, could defeat Hitler. The government he formed was a coalition government that included the various ideas of the right and left. Among others were former Prime Minister Chamberlain, leaders of the Labor Party and Ernest Bevin, the union leader who took over the Ministry of Labour. A good leader generates agglutination in critical moments, is committed and inclusive.

On June 22, 1941, Hitler launched his attack on the Soviet Union. Churchill’s response was quick and unequivocal. In a broadcast that same day, while denying reversing his criticism of communism, he insisted that “The Russian danger…is our danger” and vowed to help the Russian people. From that moment on, the British leader’s priority was to build a great alliance incorporating the Soviet Union and the United States. A good leader has a clear strategy and is a practical person who overcomes any ideological resistance.

Incredible historian, gifted journalist, Nobel Prize for Literature. A unique person, trained and prepared for the destiny that touched him. Perhaps our politicians could at least read his story to get some inspiration and think about how to improve as leaders and, therefore, the destiny of our nation..