Men in their late 70 s running countries

Sarnia

To lead a country you need a certain level of experience of the world and that comes with age. Elderly is 75 and over and in my view too old to be running a country.
I would far rather see more women in charge. I don't think we would have anything like the wars and conflicts we have at the moment if more women were at the helm.

I wonder what age you are when forming that view? I'm 76 and do not feel "elderly" - just older. My mother was 99 when she died; she was "elderly". More countries have a minimum age than maximum. I know Nigeria did have a maximum of 70 but I don't know if that still holds true.

Most democracies don’t set upper limits. Their key reasons seem to be:
Voter choice - democracies tend to leave it to voters to decide if someone is “too old”
Anti-discrimination norms - age-based exclusion can be seen as unfair
Experience value - older candidates may bring long political or diplomatic experience

Concerns about health, cognitive sharpness, and generational perspective are usually covered although this can be abused if the leader, themselves, is undemocratic.

Democracy allows us to choose. Sometimes the majority ends up regretting that choice.

TerriBull

As far as I know, Rishi Sunak did not preside over out of control assisted dying or try and lock people out of their bank accounts for not wishing to have the Covid vaccine. Not in the same league as Trudeau and Arden imo.

I agree 👍

Rishi picked up after Liz Truss, he was handed a poison chalice and managed to mitigate the damage she caused.

Galaxy

And not going to war is often a terrible thing to do.

Looking back over the last few decades can you point out when going to war has been the better thing to do?

I think 'often' is stretching it a bit...

FriedGreenTomatoes2

And yet Jacinda Arden was rubbish so 🤷‍♀️

In what way was she rubbish please ? Like Sanchez is rubbish?

GrannyGravy13

TerriBull

As far as I know, Rishi Sunak did not preside over out of control assisted dying or try and lock people out of their bank accounts for not wishing to have the Covid vaccine. Not in the same league as Trudeau and Arden imo.

I agree 👍

Rishi picked up after Liz Truss, he was handed a poison chalice and managed to mitigate the damage she caused.

Yes I agree too, he did inherit an absolute poison chalice from the two buffoons who came before. He didn't have long enough to implement enough positive changes although he was bringing down inflation. By the time he went to the country, the electorate wanted something different, which is usually the case after any one party has been in government for a long time.

TerriBull

As far as I know, Rishi Sunak did not preside over out of control assisted dying or try and lock people out of their bank accounts for not wishing to have the Covid vaccine. Not in the same league as Trudeau and Arden imo.

He was 42, younger than Justin Trudeau was when he became PM. That is the point when comparing young leaders with elderly ones. It’s down to personal and political opinion as to whether any PM or leader is a good or bad one.

FriedGreenTomatoes2

And yet Jacinda Arden was rubbish so 🤷‍♀️

That’s the challenge with democracy. Ppeople don’t all agree on leaders or outcomes. If we assume our own view is the obvious one, it can make it harder to understand why others vote differently.

DaisyAnneReturns

Sarnia

To lead a country you need a certain level of experience of the world and that comes with age. Elderly is 75 and over and in my view too old to be running a country.
I would far rather see more women in charge. I don't think we would have anything like the wars and conflicts we have at the moment if more women were at the helm.

I wonder what age you are when forming that view? I'm 76 and do not feel "elderly" - just older. My mother was 99 when she died; she was "elderly". More countries have a minimum age than maximum. I know Nigeria did have a maximum of 70 but I don't know if that still holds true.

Most democracies don’t set upper limits. Their key reasons seem to be:
Voter choice - democracies tend to leave it to voters to decide if someone is “too old”
Anti-discrimination norms - age-based exclusion can be seen as unfair
Experience value - older candidates may bring long political or diplomatic experience

Concerns about health, cognitive sharpness, and generational perspective are usually covered although this can be abused if the leader, themselves, is undemocratic.

Democracy allows us to choose. Sometimes the majority ends up regretting that choice.

I am 78 and. like you. do not feel old. I am still active in both mind and body but the last thing I would want to do would be to run a country with all that entails.

Casdon Mon 13-Apr-26 09:39:48
Snap

I think what Covid revealed, is an overreach of power and the draconian measures implemented by some in government as demonstrated by Trudeau and Arden, friends of ours in NZ told us she went right over the top and they couldn't wait to see the back of her. Trudeau even worse. State control of that nature just brings Winston Smith to mind.

I think it is difficult to know Maizie, becaise it is hard to predict what would have happened if people hadn't gone to war, obviously the second world war, I would also say inaction against the Syrian regime was a mistake that costs lives. I also think america should have not withdrawn troops from Afghanistan. I think it is relatively easy to say no intervention, peopke get to be morally 'pure' so to speak but they aren't in my view.

And yet in polls Jacinta Arden remains New Zealand’s most popular former political leader TerriBull. You just proved the point really, that one man’s political meat is another’s poison.

We liked Jacinta Arden over in Australia but we probably didn’t hear so much because every single Kiwi I have met ( quite a few) couldn’t stand her and thought she was a dreadful leader. I suppose, being honest, it is the same in reverse with Starmer. I think he is awful and so do most people I speak to here ( mostly those with some sort of tie to the UK from way back ) but maybe living there you pick up nuances that we don’t. I certainly think he seems to be dealing quite well with this dreadful war.

I am 82. I am in excellent health physically and mentally. Like Trump I have done all the cognition tests and aced them.

BUT

I no longer have the stamina I did, from Durocell Bunny, the one still racing along when all others had collapsed with exhaustion I am now in the state where an hour or so in the garden or decoraing and I am knackered, I get tired very uickly and need a lot of sleep.

If anyone asked me to be President or take on any pther high office I would decline on the grounds that i do not have the stamina for long days of negotiation, followed by meetings into the small hours.

I would like to see Trump to do a cognition test in public or in front of a group of independent observers The tests are standard, so difficult to fiddle - and if his mind is as bad as it seems, even coaching would not work as he would forget it as soon as he had received it.

Yes, that was exactly my thoughts too M0nica, however fit we are for our age a punishing schedule with late hours and flights etc would take it out of anybody, because sadly we no longer have the stamina. That’s why Trump has to use a buggy to get round the golf course, even though he is the bestest, most talented and wonderful golfer the world has ever seen.

I would also say that what you do in your forties and fifties obviously impacts your later health, Trump to me has never looked like someone who has taken great care of his health, but again I don't want people excluded on those grounds. To repeat a well worn saying democracy is the worst form of government except for all the other forms of government we have tried. There will always be flaws in the system.

Galaxy, are you saying that cognitive tests should not be required for those standing for leadership positions, or applied when there are concerns about somebody’s fitness for office?

Men in their late 70 s running countries

I misread that at first as:
Men in their late 70s ruining countries.

Now I will read the whole thread and think about it.

No i meant I don't want people excluded who didn't look after their health. I would be extremely suspicious of people asking for that now when it didn't happen previously.

Hitler was 51 in 1940. Only saying"………….!

Allira

*Men in their late 70 s running countries*

I misread that at first as:
Men in their late 70s ruining countries.

Now I will read the whole thread and think about it.

Many a true word…etc 🤣🤣

Nobody seemed to bother when Biden
‘ with dementia’ was running the show!
Shameful that his wife allowed him to give those incoherent speeches.

No thanks.

Galaxy

No i meant I don't want people excluded who didn't look after their health. I would be extremely suspicious of people asking for that now when it didn't happen previously.

Nothing would ever improve if there was no change though, would it? Putting aside Biden and Trump, I think it is important that every country has a leader who is not suffering from dementia or a serious mental illness which impairs their judgement.

Perhaps the key is that there should be a mechanism for getting rid of a leaders who prove themselves unfit to govern, whether by misconduct, incompetence or mental ill health, between scheduled elections. To be fair to the Conservatives, they are quite good at this; where they so often fail is in choosing a successor.