FOLLOW MY LEADER

Mr Cameron must today be feeling like an unwanted ex-husband, who now has to hang about waiting for the courts to wind up the relationship, while the other men or women who were party to the split, wait to see what opportunities present themselves. He didn’t see it coming; didn’t read the mood of the nation. The unwanted husband never noticed how bad things were until it was too late.

Bo Jo, the blue-eyed boy, meanwhile, has to pretend he’s not interested in donning the leadership mantle, then try to push back the closet racist bandwagon jumpers and start trying to find friends. Ignoring voters with an anti-immigrant agenda will not be possible, but encouraging them is very unsafe.

Meanwhile, the Labour Party will have to search for a possible successor to Jeremy Corbyn.

Charisma is, I believe, an overrated attribute, but what Corbyn’s detractors seem to be saying is that Jezza lacks it. Tony Blair had it and look how highly he’s rated nowadays, though it is argued that at least he made the Labour Party electable. Leaders with charisma have certainty, charm, and a compelling attractiveness that inspires devotion in their followers. Throw in a touch of religion or magical thinking and a larger dose of narcissism and the charismatic leader is born. But the one thing a charismatic leader needs to succeed is success.

The Chilcot Report will be an interesting read for those with the stomach for it. With Blair, the total conviction he expressed at the time preceding the Iraq War included a Messianic rhetoric which I personally found disturbing. Can Corbyn speak with certainty? Can he inspire that devotion? I doubt it. But he shouldn’t have to. Committees are the enemy of charisma and Corbyn knows this. By refusing to step down, he is ensuring the party members take an equal share in deciding policy and implementing change for the good of the whole country.

Forget charismatic leadership. Even without Jezza, it ain’t going to happen…