Although we are a thriving parliamentary democracy, in line with many other democracies around the world our style of government, and increasingly our style of electioneering, has become overwhelmingly presidential. ‘GonziPN’ is only the latest manifestation of this in a tradition that in Malta goes back to Strickland, Nerik Mizzi and Mintoff, to name but three

The brand of the strong, charismatic leader around which the future success or failure of a political party turns has become the key to success. This phenomenon has been greatly encouraged by the ever-present media, especially television, and the 24-hour news cycle.

As the electioneering mode of both the major political parties quickens, focused as it will inevitably be on the personality of the ‘Great Leader’, it would be worth our while weighing up the qualities of leadership which we should be looking for in our next prime minister.

Let me say at the outset that, for stylistic reasons of presentation, throughout this article ‘he’ or ‘him’ refers equally to ‘she’ or ‘her’, for leadership, as those readers who have seen the film The Iron Lady will know, is exercised as much by women as by men.

What is leadership? Expressed in its simplest terms, a leader is concerned with getting people to do things. What this means, of course, in practice is that leadership and motivation are about getting people to do things willingly. Leadership contains a mixture of three ingredients: The powers of persuasion, compulsion and example.

It is the combination of these three elements that makes other people do what is wanted of them, even when the task to be achieved is not to their liking. Much more can be done by persuasion and example than by compulsion. The truth of the matter is that the beginning of political leadership is a battle for the hearts and minds of men and women.

A leader must have the force of character necessary to inspire others to follow him with confidence. Put simply, force of character in a leader comes through knowing what he wants to do and having the determination and courage to do it in a way which will inspire confidence in those around him, or those for whom he is responsible.

Leadership involves will-power. It is the will-power and conviction that make the leader take the initiative, make the plan, do what is required and, most importantly, see it through. The leader must have infectious optimism, the determination to persevere in the face of difficulties and the imagination to envisage the consequences of his actions.

Enthusiasm must pervade all that he does. He must radiate confidence. He must have confidence in himself. He must have sound judgement in which others will have confidence. He must have complete integrity. He must have drive and initiative and a thorough knowledge of his job.

What are the personal qualities which I have observed in the leaders I have had the privilege to come across?

I would highlight six outstanding qualities. The first is the power of concentration and total engagement in the task in hand. The capacity to focus on the key strategic issues, to see the wood for the trees, is absolutely essential in a leader. The selection and maintenance of the aim is vital. This ability enables him to simplify a problem, to reduce it to the bare essentials on which action will be based, and to discard the details which are not important.

Secondly, I highlight the leader’s ability to arrive at a decision. The capacity – the courage, often – to make a decision is an absolute must in a leader. The supreme importance of this quality cannot be exaggerated. A leader must have the courage to take decisions even – or perhaps especially – unpopular or difficult decisions. Doing nothing is almost always wrong. What should matter is that, having considered all the relevant factors, a decision should be taken and the leader should shoulder full responsibility for that decision.

Thirdly, the ability to take a decision is closely wrapped up with the next important leadership attribute – that of good judgement. The leader’s power of decision results from his ability to remain calm in a crisis and to show the right judgement in reaching a good decision. Judgement is learnt by experience and practice. A leader will never learn to judge matters if he is afraid of making mistakes.

There are two vital attributes in a leader in any walk of life, but most especially in politics: Decision and good judgement in action, and calmness in a crisis. Given these two attributes, he will succeed.

Fourth, I emphasise the power of persuasion and good communication skills. The political art of persuasion requires a leader to be capable of communicating effectively. He must be able to articulate his aims in a language which ordinary people can understand and with which they can identify. In short, a leader must be able to inspire people’s support.

Fifth, the leader must be able to organise and plan soundly, to look ahead realistically – without allowing wishful thinking to cloud his judgement – and to deal promptly and efficiently with the unexpected.

Last, the good leader must have a genuine interest in, and a real knowledge of, human nature. This will always be the raw material of the politician’s trade. He must be a good judge of people and of character. He must have the personal trust of the people he leads. He must understand their feelings and appreciate their capabilities and limitations. He must give first consideration to their welfare and interests.

He must understand that bottled up in men and women are human feelings and day to day concerns. These must have an outlet which is positive and constructive. If this can be done, the greatest achievements become possible. But if the approach is cold, self-serving, arrogant and uncaring, little can be achieved. This is the basic lesson of leadership.

The fundamental elements of the leader are the man – his sincerity and selflessness, his knowledge of human nature, his ability to grasp the essentials of a problem, and then to make the right decision.

Let me acknowledge straight away that it is unlikely that we will find all these qualities in one man, whether Lawrence Gonzi or Joseph Muscat. What I would hope, however, is that we can find all of these qualities at least to some degree. We are looking, after all, for a political leader, not a paragon.

Neither is it for me to tell readers how Gonzi and Muscat measure up against the criteria I have just drawn up. My job as a columnist is to outline the bench-mark standards we should be looking for to allow you, the reader (and the sovereign electorate), to make up your own mind based on what you have seen to date of the two men. This will be the essence of the next general election.

Martin Scicluna is the

Director General of Malta’s only independent think-tank, The Today Public Policy Institute. He writes here in his personal capacity