“Gerry Adams is not a mathematical genius” – the Indo

I wonder was Napoleon a good swordsman. In those days, cavalry charges would have been very important in winning battles, but I don’t recall any paintings showing him wielding a sword; maybe he was holding one under his waistcoat. And George Washington – was he a top cannoneer, or whatever you call the guys who aimed and fired cannon back then?  Then there’s Nelson (no, not that Nelson, Virginia – this is Horatio Nelson we’re talking about): was he a good shot with a rifle? The fact that he had only one eye must have been a serious handicap but presumably he somehow overcame it. And that other Nelson (wrong again, Virginia), Nelson Mandela. When he was in the ANC, was he good at setting up explosions? Hand-to-hand combat? Wielding a machete?

What’s that you say, Virginia? These are all irrelevant questions to be asking of Messrs Napoleon, Washington, Nelson and Mandela? How can they be, if these weapons were used and they were the leaders of their group or country? …You say they wouldn’t have had to do the fighting – they’d have had followers appointed or recruited to do it for them? Then what use were they? Why were they the leaders?

The answer is obvious, you say: they inspired their followers. They designed strategy – sometimes military, sometimes political, sometimes both. That’s what leaders do: they show a grasp of the big picture and so are ultimately successful in the battle or war or campaign. Well, that’s interesting.

So let’s fast-forward to this morning and the Indo, where several writers, including John Downing and the editorial team, hurl everything but the dishwasher at Gerry Adams as the leader of Sinn Féin. “In an increasingly unstable economic world, where death and taxes are said to be the only two certainties, we can add a third – Mr Adams is not a mathematical genius”, declares John Downing. “Tax reliefs and pension benefits are confusing at the best of times but putative political leaders like Mr Adams have a serious responsibility to be clear about plans”, the editorial intones.

Well, there’s truth in both statements. Gerry Adams is not a mathematical genius and tax reliefs and pension benefits are indeed confusing at the best of times. In fact, I struggle and often fail to follow what the hell the questions on economics are, let alone the answers. But fortunately I don’t have to run a state economy. Neither, if by some chance he were to be elected Taoiseach, would Gerry Adams. The present Taoiseach, who has the usual economic qualifications you get from a primary school teacher-training institution 40 + years ago (i.e., nil) isn’t a mathematical genius either. But fortunately he has a man who does that stuff for him called Michael Noonan. Gerry Adams and the Sinn Féin party have Pearse Doherty. That’s how parties work: they appoint people whose grasp of an area will be such that they can speak for the party. In government it’s called a Cabinet.

And what do leaders do? They make big decisions. Like when to call an election. Or what method will be used to select candidates. Or what the overall vision and strategy of the party should be. He or she will be someone the party trusts to lead them (that word again) through difficult as well as successful times. Once we define leadership in those terms, it becomes clear that Gerry Adams doesn’t have to be a mathematical genius because he has  the kind of leadership qualities that brought his followers out of armed conflict into the political arena and helped build them into the biggest political party on the island of Ireland.

But still: it’s touching to see the Indo’s concern that Sinn Féin should have  proper leadership.  Maybe concern is too mild a word. Given that the newspaper keeps coming back to the leadership qualities of Gerry Adams again and again and again, maybe a more appropriate noun would be “obsession”.