Selecting the proverbial Top Gun

Moviegoers from my generation probably remember Tom Cruise competing to be the best of the best pilot in the movie "Top gun". While this article is not about fighter pilots, the analogy is appropriate, after all the best of the best should logically lead any nation. The problem is selecting the proverbial Top Gun.
Democracy, dictatorship or any other form of government for that matter, are all means to an end, the end being leadership. While each might profess to be the end of history, all are accompanied by their unique pitfalls and none guarantees success. Universal suffrage is susceptible to financial clout and voter literacy while dictatorships motto is might is right.
So let's assume a hypothetical world where a nation can advertise for its CEO. Without delving into the intricacies of the selection process we only focus on the optimum set of qualifications and experience for this coveted position. Going off track a bit, considering the mode of dismissal of the incumbents over the last three decades in Pakistan, it is rather amazing that there are people who continue to vie for the job.
Notwithstanding, the assignment at hand is complicated, to say the least. One is reminded of the efforts in the past ordaining graduation as the minimum qualification for candidates contesting elections. Without doubting the sincerity of the initiative, the logic of tasking a largely illiterate populace to glean through a menu of educated individuals is unclear. Respecting the popular view that democracy is better suited for a highly literate society, it is appropriate that our electorate is no more burdened with such modalities.
Choosing an easier path we could move ahead with the hypothesis that a country is similar to a corporate entity except for its immensity. Accordingly, we hurriedly proceed with short listing the top entrepreneurs of Pakistan for the panel interviews. Unfortunately we encounter a glitch since we are reminded of Paul Krugman's view that businessman are not economists. Even if the probability of Krugman having correctly differentiated that a country is closed and corporations are open ended is remote, the risk of failure has a material impact on our nation. Oh well, back to the drawing board!
While a businessman with a degree in Economics is still in the running, considering the significance of our objective we tackle it professionally and first try to profile the position. Idealistically, in today's global scenario, the perfect contender should excel in inter personal skills with a command over 6 or 7 key foreign languages, should have degrees in Economics, Marketing, Political Science and History, should be conversant with military strategies, should have extensive experience of negotiating at a global level, should have in-depth knowledge of social development, should have managed a global conglomerate, should be charismatic and last but not least be a visionary.
Sadly, in the real world, even if after a concentrated effort we did manage to find an individual with the requisite competencies, under all likelihood he would have reached an age devoid of ambition or would probably be senile. The realisation dawns that we need to diminish our expectations. At any rate the CEO is a leadership position and most other functionalities can be delegated which only requires common sense.
A more realistic wish list indicates a charismatic statesman who understands economics and military strategy, excels in foreign relations, has above average common sense and is a visionary. While we may have transited from the realm of fantasy, it is impossible to establish any criteria for measuring such soft skills. The taste of this pudding is only in the eating of it.
Utter frustration nudges us towards pragmatism, an appropriate advertisement for the perfect CEO remains elusive. Dejected we consider another option, why not a profile based on the qualifications of successful leaders in modern history. Grievously this methodology has an additional hurdle, who decides what success in our specific context and environment is and we will still need to overcome the problem of measuring soft skills.
We are desperate, how about a Professor, a PhD, etc. Ever hear the parable where the subjects on the death of their wise king are unable to elect his successor and decide that the first person to enter the kingdom at dawn will be vested with the enviable honour. Unfortunately the Halwai has no clue of handling an invasion.
Ultimately we reach the conclusion that a perfect system to select leadership does not exist, realistically the corporate world only dreams about such a system as well. Let the wisdom of the masses be our guide as we continue our experimentation with democracy, after all what else can we do other than hope for the best and pray for the rest.
If all else fails, there is hope. Leaders have an uncanny ability to rise against adversity and wrest their position in life purely on their own skills. After all why should a leader have to rely on stilts?
But then according to the law of leverages by now our leader should have assumed his rightful position and Pakistan should not be struggling against all kinds of domestic and global adversity. Fortunately in this case, even a cursory review of corporate and world history provides insight. Apparently the fundamental ingredient for success is not just leadership; it is continuity of leadership.
Almost all global conglomerates boast of a Patriarch who spent a lifetime building them until they were too big to fall, pun intended. We need not look at Microsoft, Ford and Sony of the world; we have our own examples where large business houses flourished under a visionary who apparently was always there.
All nations, in our region either boast of a Deng Xiaoping, Mahathir, Lee Kuan Yew, Shah or Ataturk who ruled for inordinate number of years and led their country to success. Unfortunately in our case, while a few may have been rulers for a decade, none had the luxury of believing in an extended rule. Perception of short-term begets near-sighted policies and decisions.
What if this is the problem? What if the form of government was not our problem but the term of governance is what ails us? What if we have faulted in unceremoniously dismissing our leaders? What if fate had bestowed us with the right leadership but we were just impatient? What if we continue to remove our rulers after the historic average period of rule, will we continue to struggle forever?
A fortune-teller may probably have the answer, but predictions have no place in our beliefs. We can probably continue with the hit and trial method and let destiny play its role. But do we really have the time? This is just a view maybe our intelligentsia will come up with sufficient criticism to terminate it in its infancy. Should they be successful one again hopes that they can come up with an alternate. In the meanwhile the country wonders, Kaun banega Top Gun!