Michael Lambert: Demoralised Tories Seek Sixth Leader in Eight Years

Aug 3, 2024 | In this video I discuss the six contestants who are hoping to become leader of the Conservative Party. In November, one of them will be elected by the conservative Party membership to take over from Rishi Sunak. The favourite to win is Kemi Badenoch, followed by Robert Jenrick. I explain in the video how Badenoch, like Priti Patel, another candidate, is a bully who intimidates her staff whilst Jenrick has a questionable history.

Steve Schmidt: „Tucker Calson Said Leadership Means Killing People” | #shorts

This is sick, says Steve Schmidt, and this sickness is loose in America. It is rotting US society. America is "decaying".

Yuval Noah Harari: “We Need Inauthentic Leaders”! | #shorts

Listen to Yuval Harari telling us the one personality trait a good leader has here.

Gov. Huckabee on Why Obama Is Struggling to Lead

Oct. 25, 2014 - 5:32 - President tackles world crises

Julia Gillard Defeats Kevin Rudd in Labor Leadership Ballot
THE GUARDIAN: Gillard remains as Australian prime minister after seeing off party room challenge by 71 votes to 31

Julia Gillard will remain as Australia's prime minister after winning the resounding backing of her Labor party colleagues in a leadership ballot against Kevin Rudd.

The Labor party room voted 71 to 31 to retain Gillard as its leader and therefore as prime minister. It ends a week of vicious bloodletting by Labor parliamentarians, brought to a head with Kevin Rudd's resignation as foreign minister so he could mount a challenge.

"I can assure you that this political drama is over," Gillard told a news conference.

She said the Labor party would now unite and focus on winning the next general election, due in 2013.

"I absolutely believe that united we can win the next election," she said, adding she was impatient to get on with the job.

Gillard's leadership vote was the best result of any Labor leader in a challenge in 30 years. » | Alison Rourke in Sydney | Sunday, February 26, 2012

Play video of Julia Gillard’s speech here

Rude Kevin Rudd Video Makes Challenge to Gillard a Racing Certainty
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Julia Gillard is poised to face a leadership challenge from the man she ousted as Australia's prime minister, Kevin Rudd, as a feud erupted over the leak of a video recording of him swearing profusely.

Leadership tensions in the ruling Labor party appeared to be nearing their inevitable conclusion on the weekend, with reports that a challenge is likely within two weeks.

The ongoing tussle was exacerbated by the appearance of a leaked video on Youtube showing Mr Rudd swearing profusely in his office while filming a public message as prime minister.

The two-minute video was posted by a user called "HappyVegemiteKR" - a reference to Mr Rudd's repeated claim if asked whether he intends to challenge Ms Gillard, that he is a "happy little vegemite".

But the video triggered a new round of internal ructions, with Mr Rudd accusing Ms Gillard's office of leaking the video – a claim she strenuously denied.

Mr Rudd, now the foreign minister, was ousted in 2010 by Ms Gillard who was forced to form a minority government at the subsequent election.

At the time, Mr Rudd was widely loathed in the party but he is now believed to have support of about a third of MPs who believe Ms Gillard has little chance of winning the next election, due in 2013. » | Jonathan Pearlman, in Sydney | Sunday, February 19, 2012

Barack Obama Book Casts Grim View of President's Leadership

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: A new book about Barack Obama, whose Pulitzer-prize winning author received extensive co-operation from the White House, portrays the American president as indecisive, out of his depth and facing insubordination from advisers.

"Confidence Men: Wall Street, Washington, and the Education of a President" by Ron Suskind, to be published tomorrow, could not have come at a worse time for Mr Obama. His popularity remains in the doldrums, he is struggling to implement a new economic plan and he faces a tough challenge to be re-elected next year.

Larry Summers, a former top economic adviser is quoted as telling Peter Orszag, then Mr Obama's budget director, at a dinner in Washington's Bombay Club: "We're home alone. There's no adult in charge. Clinton would never have made these mistakes." Mr Summers was US Treasury Secretary under President Bill Clinton.

Mr Orszag is quoted as telling the author: "Larry just didn't think the president knew what he was deciding."

Anita Dunn, a former Obama communications director, is quoted as saying that "looking back, this place would be in court for a hostile workplace ... Because it actually fits all of the classic legal requirements for a genuinely hostile workplace for women."

Christine Romer, another former senior economic adviser, is quoted as saying after she was excluded from a meeting by Mr Summers: "I felt like a piece of meat." She is also said to have asked Elizabeth Warren, a Harvard professor and Obama ally: "Why is it always the women?" "Why are we the only ones with the balls around here?" » | Toby Harnden, Washington | Sunday, September 18, 2011

10% of Germans Want Führer Back - Survey

RT: One in ten Germans would like to see a Führer in power; they see dictatorship as the best option for the country, a survey has revealed.

According to a social study conducted by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, the longing for a strong hand is still common among Germans.

The poll, aimed at revealing ultra-right and nationalistic feeling, covered 2,400 Germans aged 14 to 90, and yielded unexpected results.

Ten per cent of respondents said that for its own sake, Germany needs a strong leader, a Führer who can rule the country with a steady hand. They pointed out that dictatorship was the best form of government. >>> | Published: Friday, October 15, 2010; Edited: Monday, October 18, 2010

Leadership Now; Leadership Then
On the steps of Number 10: David Cameron, Winston Churchill
Which British prime minister inspires confidence? Which British prime minister has offered us true leadership? Under whose leadership would you feel secure? Fact is that we are under attack by Al-Qaeda and radical Islam. Radical Islam is out to destroy the West. I’m sure that OBL and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are quaking in their leather thongs observing David Cameron kissing his new born child so tenderly on the steps of Number 10.

Of course, it is normal for a father to kiss and love his baby. But is such a show of tender affection on the steps of Number 10 really necessary in these dangerous times? David Cameron is obviously such a new man. I wonder if he does the vacuuming between cabinet sessions. All he needs is a ‘pinnie’! – © Mark

America Faces 'Crisis of Leadership', Leading Wall St Investor Warns
THE TELEGRAPH: America faces a "crisis of leadership" that is damaging the country's recovery, one of Wall Street's leading hedge fund managers has warned in a scathing attack on President Barack Obama.

President Obama has been the focus of several attacks by Wall Street investors concerned about the direction of his policy. Photo: The Telegraph
Daniel Loeb, the founder of the $3.3bn (£2.1bn) Third Point fund, said that the administration's policies appear intent on "redistribution rather than growth", and should send a chill through those who believe in free markets.

In the letter to investors, Mr Loeb pinpoints the "politically-laced" lawsuit brought by regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission against Goldman Sachs in April as the moment that investors began to lose confidence.

The criticism underlines the fear some on Wall Street have about the Obama administration's intentions toward a financial services industry still bearing the brunt of Americans' anger over the crisis.

Steve Schwarzman, the billionaire founder of private equity firm Blackstone, last month likened the president's plans to levy taxes on the private equity industry as being akin to Adolf Hitler's invasion of Poland. >>> Richard Blackden, US Business Editor | Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Australian PM Kevin Rudd Fighting Leadership Coup
THE TELEGRAPH: Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is fighting to hold on to power after senior colleagues forced him to call a leadership election.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd speaks during a press conference in Canberra, Australia, on 16 June 2010. Photo: The Telegraph
Mr Rudd was told he had lost the backing of several MPs and the AWU, one of the country's most influential unions, who were switching their support to his Deputy Julia Gillard.

Party bosses urged Ms Gillard to challenge the prime minister after he failed to secure a lift in the polls in what was considered a make-or-break week.

She spoke to him on Wednesday to demand the leadership vote after being told the majority of Labour Party MPs would back her.

During an extraordinary night in Canberra, one unnamed MP reportedly said that Mr Rudd was a "cryptofascist" who had never bothered to build support within the party and was now paying for his mistakes.

The dramatic move against Mr Rudd comes amid fears he will lose an election later this year. Labour Party MPs hope Ms Gillard, who is seen as more voter-friendly than the rage-prone prime minister, has a far better chance. >>> Bonnie Malkin in Sydney | Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Heaven Forbid That We Should Ever Be Led by This Firebrand! John McDonnell Says He Would Like to 'Assassinate' Margaret Thatcher
THE TELEGRAPH: A candidate for the Labour leadership has said that he would like to go back in time and assassinate Margaret Thatcher.

John McDonnell drew loud applause from an audience of union members as he described himself as a victim of the former Conservative Prime Minister's policies. Having worked for the Greater London Council and National Union of Mineworkers, Mr McDonnell, MP for The Hayes and Harlington, said he would be glad to "go back to the 1980s and assassinate Thatcher".

Debating together for the first time at a hustings, five of the six MPs bidding to take over from Gordon Brown sought to appeal to the left wing tendencies of their audience. >>> | Monday, June 07, 2010

Ed Miliband Wins Crucial Backing from Neil Kinnock in Labour Leadership Race
THE OBSERVER: Party's influential elder statesman shuns favourite David Miliband, saying that his brother has greater leadership qualities

The race for the Labour leadership explodes into life today as the party's revered elder statesman and former leader, Neil Kinnock, shuns the favourite, David Miliband, and formally endorses his younger brother, Ed.

In an exclusive interview with the Observer Kinnock, who led Labour from 1983 to 1992, says Ed Miliband has all the vital gifts necessary to put the party back in power and possesses more leadership qualities than his brother. "I would say he has got the X-Factor, especially where the X is the sign you put on the voting slip at election time."

Asked directly if Ed is better suited to the job of Labour leader than David, Kinnock replies: "Yeah." While he insists that he admires and rates David "very highly", he adds: "In addition to his [David's] high intelligence I think the party needs leadership qualities, and Ed's got more of them."

The former party's leader's decision to go public is a serious setback to the former foreign secretary, who is seen by some in the party as lacking the common touch and to be too closely associated with the Tony Blair era. >>> Toby Helm, political editor | Sunday, May 23, 2010

Labour Party: Diane Abbott Enters Leadership Race

BNP 'Sacks' PR Accused of Coup Bid
YAHOO! NEWS: The British National Party has sacked its publicity chief after he was arrested on suspicion of threatening to kill its leader Nick Griffin, according to reports.

Party bosses also accused Mark Collett, 29, who appeared in a documentary called Young, Nazi and Proud while a student in Leeds, of trying to launch a "palace coup" against Mr Griffin.

Mr Collett was responsible for producing the far right group's publicity material and edited its newspaper.

A leaked copy of the BNP organisers bulletin stated the party had run "an extensive and long-running" investigation into financial irregularities.

It stated: "We are able to say that Mark Collett was conspiring with a small clique of other party officials to launch a 'palace coup' against our twice democratically elected party leader, Nick Griffin, and that in order to create the artificial climate of disillusionment necessary for this to stand any chance of success, lies and unfounded rumours have been spread, and were planned to be spread much further.

"Mr Collett has therefore been relieved of all positions within the party with immediate effect." >>> Press Association | Easter Sunday, April 04, 2010

Britische Tories in Bedrängnis: Unerwartete Erosion der Zustimmung laut den jüngsten Wählerumfragen
NZZ ONLINE: Die britischen Konservativen kämpfen mit einem rasch schwindenden Vorsprung vor Labour. Die Wahlstrategie der Personalisierung und Polarisierung bei inhaltlicher Unschärfe hat bisher nicht verfangen.

Gut zwei Monate vor dem voraussichtlichen Wahltermin spitzt sich der Kampf um die Macht im britischen Unterhaus zu. Just am Tag der letzten grossen Konferenz der Konservativen in Brighton zeigte die sonntägliche Wählerumfrage ein drastisches Abschmelzen des Vorsprungs vor der regierenden Labourpartei auf bloss noch 2 Prozentpunkte. Damit scheint den Konservativen ausgerechnet in derselben südenglischen Küstenstadt, in der Labour noch am Parteikongress im vergangenen September mit wehenden Fahnen unterzugehen schien, die Hoffnung auf den sicher geglaubten Wahlsieg davonzuschwimmen. Im letzten Herbst hatten die Tories in Umfragen noch um bis zu 15 Prozentpunkte vor Labour gestanden, Anfang Jahr waren es noch rund 10, vor einer Woche 6 Punkte. Fragwürdige Personalisierung >>> Peter Rásonyi, Brighton | Sonntag, 28. Februar 2010

Masters of the World: The Arrogance of China's Leadership
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: The West hopes that China's growing prosperity will also lead to political liberalization. But the reverse is likely to be true. The Communist Party's increasing confidence means China is set to become more of a troublemaker on the international stage, and more brutal in its crackdown on dissidents.

China's Communist Party is omnipotent. It can move mountains, as it did when it built the world's largest hydroelectric plant on the Yangtze River. It can build the world's highest railway line, as it proved when it constructed the rail link to the Tibetan capital of Lhasa.

It can even organize reincarnations, something it achieved when it anointed a man who is loyal to Beijing as Tibet's second-highest spiritual leader, or Panchen Lama -- a particularly impressive feat for an atheistic party which regards religion as a corrupting opium of the people. The Communist Party bosses briefly turned spiritual in order to get their man in place as successor to the Dalai Lama, 74. But the Dalai Lama has chosen his own spiritual deputy. And he's also thinking about selecting a woman to be his reincarnation, he told SPIEGEL. Besides, he doesn't want to do Beijing the favour of dying anytime soon.

Last Thursday, US President Barack Obama shook hands with the Tibetan Nobel Peace Prize winner in the White House. It's something his predecessors had also done, as had the French and German government leaders. Usually Beijing just responded to such meetings by uttering the usual protests. The Communist Party's complaints against US arms shipments to Taiwan have been similarly muted in the past because it was well aware that US presidents are bound by law to help Taiwan.

But it's different this time. Beijing reacted with uncommonly vocal fury to the latest Dalai Lama meeting and Washington's new Taiwan arms deal, and has threatened consequences. Companies like Boeing might be excluded from Chinese deals, and bilateral talks among military officials have been cancelled. Self-Confidence Bordering on Arrogance >>> A commentary by Erich Follath | Tuesday, February 23, 2010

'Where Have All the Leaders Gone?'
'Remember Lee Iacocca, the man who rescued Chrysler Corporation from its death throes? He's now 82 years old and has a new book, 'Where Have All The Leaders Gone?'.

Lee Iacocca Says:

Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder! We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car.

But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, 'Stay the course.'

Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned 'Titanic'.

I'll give you a sound bite: 'Throw all the bums out!'

You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore.

The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs.

While we're fiddling in Iraq , the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving 'pom-poms' instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of the 'America' my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How about you?

I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have. The Biggest 'C' is Crisis!

(Iacocca elaborates on nine C's of leadership, with crisis being the first.)

Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.

On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. A hell of a mess, so here's where we stand.

We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving.

We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the country.

We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia, while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs.

Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy.

Our schools are in trouble.

Our borders are like sieves.

The middle class is being squeezed every which way.

These are times that cry out for leadership.

But when you look around, you've got to ask: 'Where have all the leaders gone?' Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.

Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throwing away our shampoo?

We've spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.

Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after the storm.

Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time.

Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when 'The Big Three' referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more important, what are we going to do about it?

Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debt, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening.

But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.

I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so afraid of? - that some bonehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for a change?

Had Enough? Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope - I believe in America. In my lifetime, I've had the privilege of living through some of America's greatest moments.

I've also experienced some of our worst crises: The 'Great Depression,' 'World Wars I and II,' the 'Korean War,' the 'Kennedy Assassination,'the 'Vietnam War,' the 1970's oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11.

If I've learned one thing, it's this: 'You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a role to play. That's the challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a "Call to Action" for people who, like me, believe in America'. It's not too late, but it's getting pretty close. So let's shake off the crap and go to work. Let's tell 'em all we've had 'enough.'

Make your own contribution by sending this to everyone you know and care about. It's our country, folks, and it's our future. Our future is at stake!!

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>

Conservative MP defects to Labour for Lack of Confidence in the Leadership of the Conservative Party
"Under your leadership [David Cameron’s] the Conservative Party appears to me to have ceased collectively to believe in anything, or to stand for anything. "It has no bedrock. It exists on shifting sands. A sense of mission has been replaced by a PR agenda." - Quentin Davies

BBC: Tory MP Quentin Davies has defected to Labour, "delighting" new leader and prime minister-in-waiting Gordon Brown.

The MP for Grantham and Stamford made his decision public in a letter to Conservative leader David Cameron, with whom he has long been at odds.

He wrote that the party seemed "to have ceased collectively to believe in anything, or to stand for anything".

But Lincolnshire County Council's Tory leader Martin Hill called the defection an "act of treachery and betrayal".

Mr Davies has long been at odds with the Tory leadership - in 2005, shadow chancellor George Osborne said he and Mr Davies disagreed on "almost everything". Conservative MP defects to Labour (more)

Mark Alexander

How Islam-canny Are the Rivals?
Much has been written over the past few weeks about the Conservative Party leadership contest, about each candidate's suitability to lead the party out of the doldrums; but each article has missed the main point: Which candidate understands Islam, and which candidate understands the threat that this religion and alternative culture poses Great Britain in particular, and Europe and the West in general?

Whoever wins the race needs to understand the history of Islam, its relentless rise in history, and its recent rapid growth inside and outside the West. As far as I am concerned, if the candidate does not understand this religion - Islam, Muslims' aims, aspirations, and tactics, and the history of jihad and Islamic conquest - then he is not a suitable candidate to lead the party.

A good political leader in the present day must have a firm grasp of this important subject if the West is to survive in its present form. In my opinion, this should be a prerequisite for political leadership in the modern world!

It is surprising indeed that no newspaper has yet raised this question. To ignore it is to miss this profoundly important point!

©Mark Alexander

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