Some Leaders say the dumbest things

Following the reported death of Osama Bin Laden, I was astounded to read on the BBC News website that Ed Miliband, the leader of the UK Labour Party (the second most powerful political party in the UK) had said: "The world is a safer place as a result of the death of Osama Bin Laden because he is no longer there to command or encourage terrorism."

That must be the single most stupid thing I’ve heard from someone who now leads the party that secured over 8-million votes in last year’s general election.  Miliband was promoted as Leader of the party following Gordon Brown’s resignation almost immediately after he lost his Prime Ministerial position.  (Remember Gordon?  In case you’re struggling, he was the Prime Minister that was once described as being emotionally unintelligent by his predecessor Tony Blair).

Now, despite the above rant; I’m not really a political animal.  Not in the governmental sense anyway.  In the governmental sense I’m fairly apolitical because like most people, I find the duplicitous behavior of many government ministers across the political divides to be unctuous at best.   Frankly, it turns me off politics almost altogether.  However,  I do vehemently oppose to people in authority, especially those who represent over 8-million other citizens; purposefully spouting wrong, misleading and wholly dangerous information. 

Leaders can’t be right all of the time, but they really must take accountability for saying stupid things.  Without being so arrogant to second-guess what the demise of Osama may bring.  It really doesn’t take an expert in Global Terrorism to predict that the chances of retribution are highly likely.  The world is not a safer place Mr Miliband – far, far, from it.  Ed Miliband is either incredibly naïve, incredibly stupid or behaving immorally (a combination of both), to suggest that it is. 

So why did he say it? 

Was it said not to panic people and thereby lull them into a false sense of security? 

No, I don’t think it was.  That may have been a reason if he was the Prime Minister but he isn’t so that nullifies that theory.  

So, did he say it because he actually believes it?  If that really is the case then it tells me that this guy shouldn’t be trusted to run a bath, let alone a mainstream influential political party – or worse, the United Kingdom.  

Maybe he said it because he was the last on the list to be interviewed and wanted to say something, just anything, and did so without applying any due forethought prior to opening his mouth?

Whatever his reasons, I will now always question his credibility as a potential leader of the country or of any serious organization. 

And that’s the key point of this message. 

What you may unwittingly say as a leader can cause untold damage to your credibility.  Granted, this is really basic stuff, but so often people who should know better can easily fall into the trap; be it through complacency, arrogance or simply not knowing enough about a subject to make a well informed statement. 

If you’ve got nothing to say then surely it’s better not to say anything. 

Or if you’re an influential political leader of the opposition, hire someone to coach you through the importance of effective communication and image.

Wishing you well in all that you do,

Keith