This Is The Most Crucial Trait That Our ‘Greatest’ Political Leaders Lack

Justin Trudeau might be the world’s favourite pretty boy right now. He’s also a head-of-state. This potent combination of good looks and easy charm on the global political stage likens him more to a unicorn than a politician. The guy dances bhangra, quips about having more Sikhs in his government than Narendra Modi does, and performs the Mayurasana pose in business casuals while looking equal parts delicious and statesmanly. He’s a happy family man, a romantic, physically fit, goofy, and most importantly, seems to have a sense of humor about it all.

What’s curious about Trudeau from the Indian subcontinental perspective is that his background is a common and familiar one to us: dynasty. Pierre Trudeau- Justin’s father- is widely considered the father of modern liberal politics in Canada, having served as Prime Minister for 11 years between 1968 and 1979. During the younger Trudaeu’s election in late 2015, a Canadian journalist on the John Oliver show commented that while Trudeau lacks his father’s intelligence, he makes up for it in ’emotional intelligence’.

Google defines emotional intelligence as the following: the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one’s emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and with empathy.

Pierre Trudeau aside, (since I’m not sure there is any non-Canadian that is enough of a world citizen to know about Canadian politics), there’s no denying that Justin Trudeau is an emotionally intelligent anomaly in what we understand the political world to be. Coming off the back of nine years under ultra-conservative leader Stephen Harper, Trudeau swooped in to fill the liberal crater that his predecessor created in a country that was often thought of as the “Western liberal ideal.” Whether he’s greeting Syrian refugees in the airport himself or speaking about why he’ll proudly continue to declare that he’s a feminist, Trudeau hits all the right spots with a sincerity that, so far, bags him an A+ for emotional intelligence.

So in honour of pointless exercises across the world, let’s see how an assortment of our own politicians fare on emotional intelligence.

Nitin Gadkari

The famed, gap-toothed Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping from Maharashtra and former BJP President is a passionate man.

Have assured end users that newly created coastal shipping cell will address all issues which are impeding the potential of coastal shipping

— Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) March 30, 2016

Unfortunately, his passion for widening highways and investing in maritime infrastructure hasn’t stopped him from being embroiled in colossal corruption scandals or a criminal case where a 7-year old girl was found dead inside a car that he owned. Since cronyism and dead children indubitably detract from the happiness of others, Gadkari scores a D- on emotional intelligence. Why a D- and not an F then, you ask? Well, the Mumbai-Pune Expressway is pretty sweet and has brought the joy of comfortable travel to many- the writer of this article included.

Jayalalithaa

Amma, the former actress turned frog-faced CM of Tamil Nadu is a tough one to pin on emotional smarts. Despite facing brief political exile due to a corruption conviction, the political giant has continued to dominate state politics for years. Famous for her welfare schemes such as Amma Canteens, Amma Mineral Water and Amma Pharmacies, Jayalalithaa receives a B for emotional intelligence because hygienic and easily available Rs. 1 Pongal and Rs. 5 Sambar Rice speaks to a profound understanding of human wants even if her face is creepily stamped on every government surface across the state. Well done, Amma.

Smriti Irani

Smriti Irani is a resplendent example of the fact that emotions alone do not make emotional intelligence. That said, Irani’s ability to tap into emotional rhetoric is uncanny for a person who has made as many public blunders as she has throughout her political career. In a recent speech in Parliament following the JNU sedition row, Irani cranked up the theatrics to gravity-defying levels, calling out Congress on its duplicity (A+), insulting worshipers of Mahishasura (D-) and waving her unflinching patriotism (“I am not certifying your patriotism but don’t demean mine. I have my idea of India, don’t demean it”) in the face of anti-nationalists, deftly stripping the BJP of the defensive cloak it wore up until then on the issue (B+).

Irani’s firebrand patriotism sometimes just doesn’t work though. Last year, during the Women in the World Summit held in Delhi, the actor-turned-politician stridently declared that Indian women are free to choose what to wear and with whom to meet. Women around the country lampooned Irani for burying her head in the sand given how heavily gender-based discrimination weighs on women in India. Still, facts have never meant much in politics and as a BJP mouthpiece, Irani’s tone is pretty bang on. She’ll figure out the rest with time.

Assadudin Owaisi

The famous barrister and President of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) knows the pulse of minority politics better than most. He has long been vocal about defending the rights of Muslims- whether that means upholding his right to refrain from saying Bharat Mata Ki Jai in Parliament or speaking out on Muslim-targeted communal violence. Owaisi also rushed to the side of the recently detained University of Hyderabad Students and defended the rights of JNU students earlier this year. While a level of emotional intelligence is elemental to political opportunism, Owaisi’s aloofness combined with his party members’ pretty frequent goonda-giri makes it hard to believe that being emotionally astute is especially important to the guy.

Narendra Modi

Narendra Modi’s identity has been irrevocably fragmented since he was elected Prime Minister but for the purpose of simplicity, let’s analyze the guy’s emotions through his hugs. They are a painfully awkward mainstay of his foreign visits and have raised eyebrows all over the world. However, what the author of this article cannot ascertain is whether enthusiastic embraces are the necessary foreplay that world leaders have forgotten in their efforts to secure arms deals and forging alliances against the growing threat of terror in the 21st century.

But in Modi’s long political career that has been riddled with controversy since at least 2002, people have questioned every aspect of his personality besides emotional intelligence. If his monthly radio segment Mann ki Baat is anything to go by, his listeners would agree that he is aware of the power of empathy. However, the skepticism that constantly surrounds him makes it impossible to objectively tell the difference between what could be his emotional intelligence versus most of the highly distasteful emotional violence displayed by his bhakts. One thing is for certain-there is a lot more coming from Modi in the near future. And we shall save his grade for later, like any good lazy analyst, without judging too quickly based only on prima facie evidence and with the 20/20 vision of hindsight.

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