An ode to unexciting political competence – in an age of the showman leader

For those of us who attained political sentience only in the 2000s, this past week’s wistful eulogising for two unshowy yet unassumingly pivotal national leaders of yesteryear has proved surprisingly illuminating.

The passing of these archetypal “quiet doers” –

former United States president Jimmy Carter, who died at age 100,

and former Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh at age 92 – might not immediately stir millennials or Gen Zers, accustomed as we are to the totemic figures of today who double as social media stars and heads of government.