Six months that make a leader

As time goes on, most elected leaders run out of ideas. Itseems to hold as true for the world as for India

- AAKAR PATEL

In early 2008, when he was running for the office of president, Barack Obama met Rupert Murdoch, the man who owned and ran News Corp, the world's largest news media business. Mr Murdoch is three decades older than Mr Obama, and had, according to a report, of their meeting, "a simple thought to share with Obama."

This thought was that he, Murdoch, had known and met every American president since Harry Truman, who left office in 1953. His advice was that "leadership was about what you did in the first six months."

Mr Murdoch was right about front-loading agendas: Mr Obama got his affordable health Act (Obamacare) passed in his first term but struggled in the second term to AAKAR PATEL get things done, though he remained and remains popular.

The reason for going back to this is events from this week: The enigmatic and unpredictable Donald Trump has announced he is running for president again in 2024, having lost two years ago. Though many in the media have been dismissive about his chances, particularly after the tepid performance of his party this month in the midterm elections candidates personally backed by Mr Trump taking an especially severe hammering - he is popular with a large section of devotees.

Even after all the scandals that haunted his years in office, his approval rating at the end of October 2020, days before the election he lost, was 46 per cent, the same as it was when he took office four years previously. Though it fell following the insurrection attempt on the US Capitol after his defeat, it is clear that he is the most influential individual in the Republican Party.