“I define charisma as magnetism.” “I define it as morally neutral, a charismatic individual may be good or bad, but he appeals to an audience.”

“Well that’s giving it a religious touch.”

“You disagree?”

“I guess not – those known to be charismatic leaders include Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, good people, and then there is Adolph Hitler and David Korersh, a cult leader, who was responsible for the deaths of more than 76 of his cult members…”

“De Gaulle wrote in his book The Edge of the Sword that charisma is the result of effective leadership, not the other way round. A leader must be able to create a spirit of confidence in those under him. He…”

“Wait, one observation and one question. Observation: In the Land of the Pure, charisma is not about effective leadership over those who are not die hard members of one’s political party, and institutional heads do not require charisma to be obeyed…so my question is, when you refer to those under a leader you mean technically or in reality?”

“What in the world are you talking about?”

“In the Land of the Pure, our constitution states one thing, and the ground reality is totally different, so clarity is required.”

“Well things do evolve differently in different countries anyway, De Gaulle wrote that a leader must be able to assert his authority.”

“Well in the Land of the Pure sometimes when you assert your authority you lose your job. Prime Minister after Prime Minister in this country has lost this highly coveted job and…”

“Yeah, yeah my question which of three main party leaders today do you reckon have charisma?”

“You have to first separate the wheat from the chaff.”

“Wheat reminds me the price of naan has gone up by another….”

“Focus my friend, focus; picture this: Nawaz Sharif not surrounded by sycophants wherever he goes!”

“With The Samdhi pushing people away with his impressively expanding waistline…”

“He has served faithfully…”

“Except for the 42-page affidavit detailing how he laundered money for the Sharifs.”

“Well the guy will serve Nawaz Sharif faithfully as long as he is kept out of jail.”

“Right, so if Nawaz Sharif is rolling down the street without anyone around him…”

“There will be no charisma, and what about the other leaders today, The Man Who Must Remain Nameless and Zardari sahib….”

“Not a fair comparison – the former will attract looks because of his good looks the latter…”

“Oh shush - such a subjective statement!”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023