Frankenstein's Ideal Leader

If we could build a leader piece by piece, what would they look like?

One of the most striking features of Canadian public opinion is the harshness with which Canadians judge their politicians. With an almost cartoonish contumely they dismiss their elected leaders in the harshest of terms. Less than 10 per cent express positive trust in politicians, and no one currently seems capable of connecting with our highly cynical electorate. Against this backdrop it’s difficult to find a politician who can serve as a paradigm for exemplary leadership as we steer towards our sesquicentennial.

Given these demanding expectations, I will not offer an imperfect past model for future leaders, but a statistical amalgam drawn from our latest research, an ideal political Frankenstein. Below are the qualities Canadians have told us they want in a leader.

Canada’s demography is a major source of some of the looming political problems we confront. With the exception of Australia, Canada had the largest baby boom in the Western world. The boomers have exerted a stranglehold over politics for the past 30 years and we now have a public agenda which reflects mostly their priorities.

Gen X and Gen Y see little of relevance to them in the federal government. They are less interested in ethics, crime, security, and health care, and more interested in climate change and a post-carbon economy, knowledge and skills, human rights and internationalism. In order to build a federal state that is focused on both the future and the present (and less the past), our next leader should be drawn from the half of Canadians under the median age of 41.

How about that elusive emotional resonance? Canadians, particularly those under 45, overwhelmingly tell us they are weary of banal custodial politics. So our next leader should be capable of sound daily management but should also offer up a bold new vision for the country.

Our next leader should obviously be smart but she or he should stir the soul as well as Tim Horton’s coffee. Canadians are looking for authenticity and sympathy. This is what Adam Smith called the glue of society – the ability to recognize our shared vulnerability, as Bill Clinton did so well in his famous “I feel your pain” moment. Recognition and respect are also essential ingredients of leadership in the context of our pluralistic post-modern society.

It might also be appropriate to find someone who reflects the growing diversity of Canada, and perhaps it isn’t too much to expect that as over half of Canadians are women we might eventually get around to electing a woman PM.

The future leader’s style of problem solving needs to recognize that agility, creativity, and lightness will be at the heart of future politics and government. The digital generations eschew formal rationality in favour of collegiality. The next leader should reflect this shift.

Finally, there is the all-important character issue – what Canadians want most is courage and honesty in their leader, and an unremitting focus on the overall public interest.