What would you do if you were [world leader]?

RedRalph

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What would be your strategic goals and means of attaining them if you were various world leaders, such as Putin, Hu, Obama, Khamanei, Chavez, Merkel, etc?

And please, no "If I was Putin I'd embrace freedom and invite the Chicago boys back to Moscow" or "If I were Obama I'd drop my evil socialist plot and try and commune with Reagan's ghost for advice"... your ideas must correspond to a degree with the general behaviour of the politician in the real world.
 
I'd aim for social justice first and foremost and economic prosperity as by next big aim. Generally the role of government is the latter more so than the former, but I would attempt to rectify this. Of course, that isn't to say that economic policy wouldn't be of great importance. It would. Social justice can be largely achieved through economic policy. But economic prosperity would come as a secondary aim behind this, where reasonable. I'd take greater control of the economy, but retain the market economic structure, aiming to reduce market failure as much as possible.

I'd make sure freedoms were preserved, and I would attempt improve the education and health systems as major priorities. Oh, and my foreign policy would be largely individualistic, with a focus on human rights more than geopolitics. Foreign aid would drastically rise.

But if I were any of the politicians mentioned in the OP, these aims would probably be distorted by various real world situations.

If I were Putin, I would aim for more transparency in government, and more cordial relations with western neighbours. I would probably free up the economy a bit more, whilst maintaining a reasonable distribution of income and wealth, before taking back more control once the economy had improved to a more reasonable position. I would widen the export base, focusing on a services based economy. Education would be a key policy, also, to improve economic prosperity.

Hu? More individual freedoms, obviously, and a greater focus on individuals in the economy, over businesses. This could be detrimental to the economy to a degree, but an improvement in the working conditions/pay conditions of workers would be beneficial in the long run. Foreign policy would slowly move towards my own end goal, and I would obviously stop repression within China, but in the meantime I would continue to be wary of, at least appear to be wary of, America. It seems to make sense.

Obama would be tricky, because I can't really think of anything I would do particularly different, other than go further to the left, and expand upon his policies more so. Health care would be a priority, but I would be more 'radical' about it, fiscal policy would be similarly expansionary, etc. Foreign policy would be made more human rights focused, and less focused on the traditional Israeli platform. I would continue to be open to Iran, NK and Russia, and hope they respond accordingly. Other than that, there aren't really any major things I would do differently (other than completely reform the American education system- it seems to be pretty horrible), but there would be plenty of small differences. And that doesn't mean I'm an Obamaphile.

Khamenei- I would open the nation up more, perhaps abandon the nuclear program (despite my perceived right to actually have it; other nations are just not understanding enough for it to work), sack Ahmadinejad, improve relations drastically with America and Israel, and improve individual freedoms, beginning with the removal of Islamic Law. It's a bit hard to correspond to realistic Iranian behaviour, because I just wouldn't continue Islamic Law.

If I was Chavez, I think I would continue following a reasonably socialist path, in line with my own aforementioned economic policy, and I would be wary of moving too quickly, to avoid the ire of other nations. I would continue with warm relations with Russia, but I would also attempt to be conciliatory towards America.'

Merkel- invade Poland I don't know about too many German specifics, but I think I would just follow my general policy outlined above, perhaps with less socialistic economics, for fear of becoming the opposition.
 
Red, this is boring. Seriously...

Yeah, you're right Bast, the threads you start are generally much more interesting

I suppose I should have put the proviso "from their POV" into the OP, otherwise its reall a question of how you would shape these countries to your own ideology.
 
On the contrary, answers to this question can be very revealing. I can only give this a short response for now. My approach would probably have more in common with Hu Jintao. He leads China with an emphasis on material development and economic expansion because those bring security. Of course I would not shy away from the best tools for a job, be they market forces or command, diplomacy or military intervention, etc.

I'd work toward a permanent peace with India. Resolve all territorial issues, all resource issues, etc. I would also work toward similar agreements with Russia, in exchange for using Chinese companies to tap the resources in Siberia. These agreements of course are aimed at regional peace and securing continued development for China. India relaxes its military buildup and that hopefully would let Pakistan refocus on territorial control instead of the constant fear of invasion. I would also send in the PLA as training advisers to the Pakistani army for anti-militia/anti-terrorist operations. Internally, I would devote even more resources to the anti-corruption efforts, with prison terms for bureaucrats and managers found guilty of abusing public welfare for personal interests and death sentences for the most extreme cases. On the Taiwan issue, I would continue cooperation with the KMT government to reduce tensions, and remove foreign interference by forbiding all foreign warships from its ports.
 
I suppose I should have put the proviso "from their POV" into the OP, otherwise its reall a question of how you would shape these countries to your own ideology.

From their POV is a bit hard, because their POV is obviously what they are currently doing. Perhaps a better guideline would be what would you do 'more or less within their political neighbourhood'.

But 'how you would shape these countries to your own ideology' is a good question, too. :p
 
Me

Putin: 1. Regain the presidency, Putin seems uninterested in the internal management of Russia and far more concerned with foreign policy. 2. Continue to improve relations with the EU, and encourage the image of Poland the the Baltics states as whingers. I would take a less confrontational stance with Ukraine to show good intentions, then try and expand influence on the country as soon as Yuschenko is out of power. 3. Frankly, I think I'd personally strangle Lukashenko to death with my bare hands. 4. Keep improving ties with China and try to sell them more gas and oil.

Khameni: 1. Keep trying for nuclear power but make an explicit and binding law that nuclear weapons will not be pursued. 2. Hold on to political power but liberalise some social aspects of Iran. 3. Try to reign in the IIRG, although this is easier said than done.

Obama: 1. Get healthcare through come what may. 2. Try to isolate Chavez in Latin America, or alternatively court him. Its not too late for the US to reassert itself in South America but the clock is ticking. Normalising relations with Cuba would go a huge away toward achieving this goal. 3. Accept that China is going to be a superpower, and try and make them a friendly one rather than an adversary. 4. Support India as much as possible. Potentially a very important ally. 5. Publicly work towards a ME peace deal, while in private do almost nothing, same as usual.
 
I would raise THY Lord Dachs unto HIS throne. Hail to the newfound King!
 
If I were Chavez, I'd be a big ugly bozo that spends most of his money on crappy Soviet surplus weapons.
 
Did you just read the first sentence or something? That is obviously the entire point of the second sentence and the run on that should have been the third.

And although the bit about surplus soviet military hardware is what Chavez did and the presentation a bit funny, the "bozo" part is just a pointless insult.
 
Did you just read the first sentence or something? That is obviously the entire point of the second sentence and the run on that should have been the third.
Huh? :confused:

And although the bit about surplus soviet military hardware is what Chavez did and the presentation a bit funny, the "bozo" part is just a pointless insult.
Yeah, it's exactly what that bozo would do, isn't that exactly what RRW wanted?
 
Huh? :confused:


Yeah, it's exactly what that bozo would do, isn't that exactly what RRW wanted?

Perfection, if that was what I wanted, I would have titled the thread 'tell me what such and such a world leader has done lately'. Now, please, if you havent anything but your hilarious irreverence to contribute, please drop it
 
Perfection, if that was what I wanted, I would have titled the thread 'tell me what such and such a world leader has done lately'. Now, please, if you havent anything but your hilarious irreverence to contribute, please drop it
So you're tacitly admitting that you didn't specifically disallow Ama's post in the OP here, thus voiding your earlier statement?


Also, Ama isn't only saying that if he were Chavez that he had bought crappy Soviet surplus weapons, but that he would continue to buy crappy Soviet surplus weapons. How in the poop is that not what you wanted?
 
So you're tacitly admitting that you didn't specifically disallow Ama's post in the OP here, thus voiding your earlier statement?


Also, Ama isn't only saying that if he were Chavez that he had bought crappy Soviet surplus weapons, but that he would continue to buy crappy Soviet surplus weapons. How in the poop is that not what you wanted?
:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: seriously man, do you honestly think this is contributing to the thread?
 
Back on track for a second, if I were Putin-Medvedev I'd nationalise the gambling industry instead of practically outlawing it. I'd install measures to reduce gambling addiction but would still make shed-loads of cash for the state, rather than pushing gambling into criminal hands.
 
Back on track for a second, if I were Putin-Medvedev I'd nationalise the gambling industry instead of practically outlawing it. I'd install measures to reduce gambling addiction but would still make shed-loads of cash for the state, rather than pushing gambling into criminal hands.

Yeah, might be a good idea, but its not as clear cut as 'install measures to reduce gambling addiction'... until there is a proven method of doing that, its not going to be a great idea to promote gambling. I think the alcohol addiction is a bigger issue though.
 
While opening a shopping mall, I'd slide down the banister of the largest escalator I could find.
 
While opening a shopping mall, I'd slide down the banister of the largest escalator I could find.

See that Amadeus, Perfection? Now that's quality spamming. Witty, OT-referential and disgusting.

Hu: 1. Begin strctly enforcing environmental laws. Doesn't matter what else China achieves, if they dont deal with this they are bummed. 2. Build a decent navy. 3. Maintain status quo with Taiwan until the situation becomes more favourable. No need for rash action now.
 
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