Lead Me (Like You Should)

The leaders of the world must know that we cannot substitute bombs and bunkers for ventilators and hospitals.

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Leaders are not born, they are made (or destroyed) in turbulent times like these. The COVID-19 crisis has laid bare leadership in each country, sealing the fate of its people as an invisible enemy wreaks havoc. The world watched in awe as an omnipotent Chinese President Xi Jinping built hospitals overnight, while simultaneously being accused of concealing the outbreak. Confinement in China was, predictably, a cakewalk but we know the price that level of efficiency comes at, and most of us would rather not live with ‘Big Brother’.

But there is a clear winner for the place where people would (if they could) choose to wait out the virus – Singapore. With WHO calling the Singaporean response to Coronavirus the gold standard, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is the leader of the moment. “What makes Singapore different,” he says, “is we don’t leave anyone behind”.

Normally (although there is nothing normal about this situation), during a global crisis, the world has looked for American leadership. As PM Loong put it himself, “They have the resources, the science, the influence and the track record of dealing with these problems convincingly and successfully, and in the greater good of many countries, not just the US. It is a pity not to put those resources to work now, to deal with this very grave challenge to mankind.”