Prime Maelstrom

Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak, Sir Keir Starmer… Leadership, it seems, is getting increasingly difficult in the UK at the moment.

Some politicians ascend to the top job only for it to become sadly apparent that, quite apart from any party political considerations, they lack the appropriate skill set with which to govern effectively. Into this category we might, sadly, put most of those named above.

Voters will actually forgive their leaders rather a lot if they display competence in governing. The most remarkable example of this is Bill Clinton, who left office in January 2001 with a 66% job approval rating, the highest exit approval rating of any post-War president at that time. His leadership ability, combined with strong economic performance, seemingly trumped his adultery for voters. That’s not to make a moral statement; it’s simply an observation.