Last week's contribution focussed on the need to maintain a realistic and balanced approach and hands on - can do attitude in the light of the evolving scenario in the international economy.
The need is for further job creation to eliminate the spectre of permanently high unemployment as well as for further investment to underpin the economic recovery.
The international scenario continues to remain complex with the risk of countries defaulting on their loans, rather than banks. It also remains complex as some countries are speeding out of the recession while others seem to be driving on first gear with the handbrake on.
When faced with such complex situations, as had happened in the early 1930s with the Great Depression, as had happened after World War II in the late 1940s, in the late 1970s and early 1980s when successive crises caused both high unemployment and high inflation, great leaders have emerged. These leaders faced the challenges of their time head on and somehow managed to move out of the crisis they were facing. Things did not always work out right for them immediately as had happened in the US in the 1930s.
However, President Roosevelt is still credited with steering his country out of the Great Depression.
Likewise Adenauer, Schumann and De Gasperi are credited with others with the creation of what we now call the EU and with the economic wealth that the EU has generated across Europe. And Margaret Thatcher is still referred to as a leading example of how to get a country focused on resolving successfully the twin challenges of reducing inflation and unemployment and some of the policies that she espoused are still very much evident in the UK today, after nearly 13 years of a Labour government.
Today, we are facing a similar need - the world economy needs strong leaders to face the challenges that this recession has created. The requirement for strong leadership arises from two aspects.
The first is the intensity and the extensiveness of the recession. The recession has cut deep into consumption, investment, business confidence, personal wealth and employment. Moreover, the recession has hit countries across the globe, either directly or indirectly, either immediately or with some delayed effect. It was not confined to one country or to one region.
The second aspect is the backdrop of today's international economy, which sometimes is forgotten. We need to keep in mind that today this backdrop is markedly different to that of 20, 50 or 80 years ago.
Governments no longer enjoy a licence to print money to pay their way out of a recession. They need to work towards balancing their budget over the medium term. Trade in goods and services moves quite freely across borders and so governments can no longer resort to the imposition of trade barriers to stimulate local activity.
Cross border investment is the order of the day, meaning that countries are constantly competing against each other to attract as much foreign direct investment as possible.
Add to this the issue of climate change and the need to find solutions (through investment of scarcely available funds) to combat the effects of greenhouse emissions; and an ageing population in the more developed economies putting a strain on the welfare system; and the continuing emergence of countries seeking to take their own slice of the world's economic cake. I believe that the cocktail that emerges from this backdrop is a challenge in itself, which requires fresh thinking and hence the need for strong leadership.
This argument applies to Malta as well. We have been beneficiaries of the increased integration of the European economy, of the free flow of foreign investment, and of the free movement of goods, services and people. However, the recession with its peripheral issues such as the increased price of fuel and the crisis in the international financial system has had its toll on our economy as well, even if to a lesser extent than in other countries. Therefore, the need for strong leadership is felt here as well. Lest I am misunderstood, I state clearly that I am not implying anything negative about anyone in Malta, as I have not implied earlier on that today's world leaders are not up to the challenges that we are facing.
Strong leadership has to do with making choices and such choices become hard ones during difficult times. Strong leadership has to do with foreseeing the consequences of the choices made and has to do with staying focussed. Strong leadership has certainly nothing to do with saying no to something and then not being able to offer credible alternatives.
A strong leader is less of a populist but more of a doer. He is likely to be guided less by what others would like him to do to render him popular in the short term and more by what is required to be done for the common good that would give him credibility in the long term. In Malta and abroad, this element of strong leadership is required if the economic recovery is to be sustained.