Who’d be a leader?

Why would anyone want to be a leader given the rough ride they are often given? Yet this Saturday Australian voters will choose who will lead their new government, and there seems to have been no problem in getting anyone to stand.

Whether the winner is current Prime Minister Julia Gillard – the first woman in the role – or Opposition leader Tony Abbott, it’s clear that neither can have any real idea of what will face them. Did US President Barack Obama realise before he was elected that swimming in the oil affected Gulf of Mexico would be part of the presidential role?

Pakistan’s President Zardari also had an encounter with water last week. Following criticism that he should have been at home instead of on a foreign visit, he made his first visit to the scene of the massive floods. Sadly, the scale of suffering shows no sign of reducing.

On a lighter note, the FA announced that the next England manager will be English. Is that a promise of better things to come or an attempt to ensure that English managers will experience their share of pain too?

Still, if luck is what leaders need most of all, there is a boy in Lowestoft who may well be pondering a career in politics. The 13-year-old was struck by lightning on Friday 13th at 13.13 – and survived.

This week’s WordLive readings have an altogether different take on leadership. A king loses his role because of disobedience to God. His successor is chosen for his inner qualities not his outward image. Are our leadership choices based on those standards?

Emlyn Williams