Men in their late 70 s running countries

Sorry, that was a bit brusk (though true) Macaydia. What did you mean? War isn’t just an “idea” you can opt into or out of; it’s a recurring feature of human history tied to politics, resources, identity, and power. Rejecting it outright can sound a bit like saying “I don’t believe in conflict”—it expresses a value, but doesn’t engage with reality.

So, perhaps you meant one of these?

You could be expressing a pacifist view - that war is inherently wrong or unjustifiable, regardless of circumstances.

Or you could be saying “I hate war and its consequences” without articulating a full argument.

Or it could be an idealistic view. Some people think that humanity should move beyond war, even if we haven’t yet. Is this what you are saying?

Or you want to gloss over difficult questions such as self-defense, humanitarian intervention, or historical cases where war arguably prevented worse outcomes.

Perhaps you could add to you original comment and discuss what you meant by it.

Macaydia

Allira

Are there doctors who can actually determine if someone is a narciccist psychopathic demented maniac during an evaluation appointment? No, I dont think so. Psychopaths are the craftiest manipulators of them all and are experts at faking sanity so that wouldnt work.

Well, here must be psychiatrists who can diagnose these MH illnesses otherwise we would not know about them. 🤔

Have you forgotten about Lucy Letby ? Psychicatrists cannot help

You are using an unproven anecdote to try to prove your point.

My point still stands.

Tony Blair one of our youngest leaders led us into an illegal unnecessary war, Churchill at an old age got us through WW2, it’s not the age but the calibre I think.

Maremia

I don't think a person, male or female, with obvious symptoms of dementia should be allowed to rule without challenge.

I know that is the perceived idea of Trump, but I don’t think he has dementia ( yet) . He is suffering the signs of old age, forgetting names, places, etc, etc, and is now falling asleep in the middle of meetings. He doesn't seem to sleep much, but that is all part of for the course for a man of his age who is overweight. I am similar at 6 months younger, and he has to remember a hell of a lot more than I do and be ‘on display’ most of the time. Now don’t think I am a Trump fan …I hate the malignant blob. No, his problems stem from his mental state. He has NO EMPATHY , no religion ( tho he pretends he does) He is a malign narcissist, and really is pretty ignorant about most things. He wants to dominate, marginalises everyone else in subservience to himself. His ego is fed daily by all the Yes people he has surrounded himself with. He is, in effect, drunk with power . The Supreme Cours gave him immunity to commit crimes in an official capacity… and that’s what he is doing. He is a Vilgar Thug… but he doesn’t have dementia yet! Here’s hoping tho, maybe he’ll forget to be a Dictator!

Even although I tend to agree that an age limit might debar capable people from becoming prime ministers or presidents, I do however wonder if someone of or over the usual retirement age necessarily has the stamina to take on such a taxing job.

However, the trouble with Trump is that he exhibits traits and behaviour that are inappropriate and may be caused by some mental disorder.

The real point here seems to be that no country seems to have envisaged that this might happen, so there are no legal ways of preventing an unfit person continuing in office, unless that person can be brought to see that he is no longer capable.

Obviously, someone who loves himself so much as Trump does is not going to admit THAT, is he?

AuntieE

Even although I tend to agree that an age limit might debar capable people from becoming prime ministers or presidents, I do however wonder if someone of or over the usual retirement age necessarily has the stamina to take on such a taxing job.

However, the trouble with Trump is that he exhibits traits and behaviour that are inappropriate and may be caused by some mental disorder.

The real point here seems to be that no country seems to have envisaged that this might happen, so there are no legal ways of preventing an unfit person continuing in office, unless that person can be brought to see that he is no longer capable.

Obviously, someone who loves himself so much as Trump does is not going to admit THAT, is he?

Of course there is a way of removing an unfair President …The Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution deals with what happens if a U.S. president dies, resigns, is removed, or becomes unable to do the job. It ensures there’s always someone clearly in charge if a president can’t do the job—temporarily or permanently.
BUT SOMEONE HAS TO REMOVE HIM…and it appears no one is prepared to do that…. Yet….

You presumption is accurate.

Sarnia. I'm not against womenbeing leaders but what about the affect of menopausal symptoms. The media is
constantly highlighting the problems females have managing their life
never mind managing a country and world politics. Of course could wait until post menopausal but the they too would be old, like the males.

At 75 I know I wouldn’t have the stamina to lead the country. I have just retired from my street neighbourhood watch responsibility as it became too onerous.
As for Jacinda Adern, I watched the film about her last week with my daughter. We both agreed that she got it wrong over her mandate on Covid vaccination but were totally unaware of the dreadful behaviour towards her. She is a compassionate person who was literally thrown in at the deep end. She kept the death toll in NZ very low , unlike here! Her attitude is a breath of fresh air but business leaders don’t like that approach.
Hence, she quit as she realised she was burnt out. It was an engrossing film!

4allweknow

Sarnia. I'm not against womenbeing leaders but what about the affect of menopausal symptoms. The media is
constantly highlighting the problems females have managing their life
never mind managing a country and world politics. Of course could wait until post menopausal but the they too would be old, like the males.

What about Angela Merkel? An effective leader, and retired just before she was 70. I don’t think women’s egos lead them to believe they are invincible, they know when to call time.

Maremia

I don't think a person, male or female, with obvious symptoms of dementia should be allowed to rule without challenge.

Spot on

I don't think age is the biggest issue here, it's men. It's men that start wars in general, it's men that want absolute power, it's men that want to control everything.

4allweknow

Sarnia. I'm not against womenbeing leaders but what about the affect of menopausal symptoms. The media is
constantly highlighting the problems females have managing their life
never mind managing a country and world politics. Of course could wait until post menopausal but the they too would be old, like the males.

What an appalling comment on Women! Most women I know are post menopausal at least at 55. I was a lucky one and certainly had symptoms but was already to cope easily! You might as well surmise women's periods make them unable to work… some have severe symptoms ,others very few if any!
Women can multitask much better than men, and if having severe health issues and unable to cope have the grace to get help! Really!

Dreadwitch

I don't think age is the biggest issue here, it's men. It's men that start wars in general, it's men that want absolute power, it's men that want to control everything.

Totally agree!

Vance is evil.

I agree that these politicians are not always in top form past 65. I also agree that there are politicians that are not in top form regardless of their ages. However, there are some highly intelligent people that can be used as a consultant in politics past the age of 65. Age, regardless of your beliefs, changes the brain cells and affects the bodies of different people in different ways. Age must be a factor in choosing a president unless you want to continue having this scenario over and over. Age, Intelligence, knowledge, experience and ability must be the determining factor to allowing someone to run for the highest office in our Country. I can only speak for United States. There also must be fully agreed to laws and contracts signed that prohibit money making schemes for self and family members during their term in office. We are experiencing the failure of these safeguards not being in place and having a tyrannist allowed to hold this office. He scammed his way all the way to the top which doesn’t say much for the people that stupidly believed him. Not only is he a convicted criminal but he is also a pedophile. It boggles my mind to think anyone did not see or believe or care about
this beforehand. Keep in mind that the US military is setting age restrictions for male active duty military personnel to max 44-45 years old. This shows how they feel about a person’s physical stamina and that is does matter. Of course, I realize the President is not personally doing combat but that position requires a strong ability to walk and talk at the same time. This president cannot and will never be able to do this. He is an American embarassment.

DaisyAnneReturns

Sorry, that was a bit brusk (though true) Macaydia. What did you mean? War isn’t just an “idea” you can opt into or out of; it’s a recurring feature of human history tied to politics, resources, identity, and power. Rejecting it outright can sound a bit like saying “I don’t believe in conflict”—it expresses a value, but doesn’t engage with reality.

So, perhaps you meant one of these?

You could be expressing a pacifist view - that war is inherently wrong or unjustifiable, regardless of circumstances.

Or you could be saying “I hate war and its consequences” without articulating a full argument.

Or it could be an idealistic view. Some people think that humanity should move beyond war, even if we haven’t yet. Is this what you are saying?

Or you want to gloss over difficult questions such as self-defense, humanitarian intervention, or historical cases where war arguably prevented worse outcomes.

Perhaps you could add to you original comment and discuss what you meant by it.

Thank you DaisyAnneReturns for having me think deeper about this and not talk rubbish. You are right. War is not so simplistic. I realize now that without war, we would not have peace. Its okay to hate senseless killings - everyone does - but I cannot think of an alternative to war in certain circumstances. (I live in the same world you do, yes.)

In fairness to all TerriBull, I think the default retirement age for politicians should be no lower than the for we mere mortals, so 67 from this year onwards?