The Weekly Observer (Kampala)
Eric Naigambi
12 November 2008
opinion
The image of an organization is often modeled along the leadership style of the chief executive.
Many times the change of a chief executive implies new working culture, customer relations, and the emergency of new networks. This is a phenomenon that is replicated from the smallest unit of management to the largest. This could be on matters as simple as a name or brand to things as complex as ideological inclinations, alliances or policies.
We have seen a string of international reports about the resignation of eminent personalities in public life lately. These include Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel, President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, Martin Sullivan CEO of American Insurance Group (AIG) and more. Such happenings are as surprising as they were years ago.
Otto Von Bismarck was the Chancellor of Germany but oversaw its creation from a loose federation of German speaking states, to the all powerful state that emerged in the 1870s. To achieve this, Bismarck started a delicate web of alliances which he carefully maintained and juggled in his favour as he went about the unification of Germany without necessarily leading to much strife. So organized were Bismarck's schemes that even when they resulted into war, it would be short lived.
However when he was eventually shoved off the seat of power soon after completing the process, Europe was exposed to an unprecedented web of political manipulations which when poorly managed resulted into two of the deadliest conflicts humanity has known: World Wars I and II. This was largely because Bismarck's successor lacked the skill and foresight to manage the alliances while maintaining peace. He just looked on helplessly as Europe slipped into the first of the devastating wars.
Israel's Ehud Olmert has been under fire all his term as Prime Minister. He was accused of mismanaging the war in Lebanon, and of late he has been questioned for corruption. He resigned on 21st September 2008 to give room for investigations. While one columnist joked that Tzipi Livni, Olmert's successor, would have an easier time recruiting enemy Syria to her side than in trying to woo over rebellious Knesset members, another glowingly referred to her as a "Mossad beauty" in reference to her role in Israeli intelligence in Europe in the 1980s.
According to reports the former AIG chief offered to help as the global financial markets slipped into unprecedented turmoil. He perhaps knew the right buttons to push. His plea was rejected and fate had its way.
Before falling from grace Mbeki appears to have been trapped between pursuing newly coveted capitalist ideological inclinations against a firm background of socialism. His futile attempts to suffocate the party ideologues were his greatest undoing. As he tried to embarrass them in public they quietly organized behind his back until they pulled him down. His exit inevitably amplifies the clash between the deeply entrenched socialist lobby and a transition to liberal capitalism. The ANC, South African's majority party through which Mbeki was able to access the highest position of leadership, is fundamentally and inherently a socialist party. Surprisingly Mbeki had succumbed to the whims of global capitalism, a trend along which he was fast-tracking South Africa, something that his support base could no longer guarantee.
We may not know for sure how Mbeki, Olmert or Sullivan ran their show but their exit amounts to more than an event. Soon after the honeymoon there shall be several overt or covert maneuvers as the new teams attempts to assert themselves. The implications will be felt near and far. As the Luganda proverb goes "awava munno, tewada muno" (when your friend leaves office the successor may not necessarily be your friend). Literary, this implies that no amount of change should be ignored. The new leaders will certainly come with new aides, contacts, networks, work style, policies and schedules, depending on their backgrounds, ambitions, preferences and perceptions as a new world order emerges.
Eric Naigambi, The writer is a communication specialist
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