Julia Gillard hits out at “strongman” leaders over coronavirus response
Former prime minister Julia Gillard has slammed “strongman” leaders around the world for their “catastrophic” response to the coronavirus pandemic, calling for science-based action.
Speaking on ABC’s Q&A on Monday night, Gillard said “blustering” leaders – such as Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, the UK’s Boris Johnson and the USA’s Donald Trump – were not doing the right thing by ignoring facts and evidence.
The US and Brazil have the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths across the globe.
“What you can’t do in this time is that blustering strongman, ‘I know, I can tell you, facts don’t really matter’ style of leadership – that’s catastrophic,” Gillard said.
“This is a time when – unless you’re following the science – you can’t possibly be doing the right thing.
“Evidence matters.”
She said male and female leadership are viewed in different ways.
“A female leader, to succeed, has to manage a balance between strength and empathy. If she’s too strong, people will go, ‘Ugh, she’s not very likeable’,” she said.
“If she’s too nurturing and caring, people will say, ‘She hasn’t got the backbone to lead’. So women leaders are already very highly skilled in this balance of strength and empathy.
“And I think at a time like this, people want both – they want to know that someone’s getting the job done, but they also want someone to care about how they’re feeling.
“I think people like Jacinda Ardern and Erna Solberg in Norway have been able to put that together.”
Does the future of global politics lie in the adoption of a ”feminine style of leadership”? #QandA pic.twitter.com/SLiYbnmvza
— QandA (@QandA) July 13, 2020
The comments came days after Gillard warned voters that their voice in the ballot box is a matter of life and death.
“I’m not saying people shouldn’t have a laugh or a joke but selecting who is going to represent you in Parliament is a serious thing,” Gillard told a British audience in an online Guardian event on Thursday.
“It’s been so serious in 2020 that the capacity of people [whom] voters have selected right around the world has increased or decreased people’s chances of living or dying.”
She cited Brazil’s Bolsonaro as an example of the “absolute macho strongman” leader.
“’Oh, a virus, it’s not going to get me’. Well guess what? This is nature. It’s science. And it’s not going to respond to confident posturing or blustering. That’s not how this works. So that pure strongman model I think has had adverse consequences and people have looked for the warmth and empathy.”
When asked about Australia’s efforts in the virus containment on the ABC program, Gillard praised Prime Minister Scott Morrison and state leaders for their coordinated “national effort”.
“Across Australia, people have done very, very well,” Gillard said.
“I’ve been really pleased to see the spirit of bipartisanship that has been brought to the task. A conservative prime minister working with Labor premiers – the opposition leaders at every level helping support the government.”
Gillard said errors can be expected amid the recent surges in the number of cases in Victoria.
“I think the realisation now is really with us that, for the next few years – until we get a vaccine – that there will be times of restrictions, times of loosening … getting the economic settings right for that is incredibly complicated and something that I think leaders at all levels are still working through.”