23/10/2025
Share:
23/10/2025
Share:
In many countries across Europe, Asia and the United States, candidates for high office face a test long before they assume power. Campaigns, debates and public questioning reveal who can handle pressure and who cannot. Even in systems without elections, there are often symbolic ways to probe the character of a potential leader before entrusting them with authority. Kuwait has no such safeguard.
Ministers step into office untested, and the seat itself becomes their first examination. That public trial often exposes flaws more than it confirms competence. The shift is abrupt. One day, an official is relatively unknown. The next day, cameras follow every move, words carry consequences for citizens and powerful figures suddenly open their doors. Psychologists call the resulting change Hubris Syndrome, when a leader begins to mistake ego for authority and criticism for hostility.
In Kuwait, it has appeared in ministers who refuse to apologize, who mistake arrogance for strength and who turn personal insecurity into a national burden. The damage does not stop with the individual. It extends to the image of the state. A minister who mishandles basic diplomatic protocol, whether seating arrangements, formal greetings or ceremonial order, does not simply stumble. The misstep reflects on the entire country.
In other Gulf states, such training is considered essential. In Kuwait, ministers often learn through trial and error, while all of us pay the price. It takes only one or two such figures to stain an entire cabinet. Their behavior can overshadow colleagues who are capable and composed.
A government is often judged by its weakest members. When flaws remain unaddressed, they grow and infect the whole. Kuwait does not need miracles to avoid this. It needs preparation. Simple programs that screen and train leaders before they assume office can prevent costly mistakes and contain the cycle of inflated egos. Without them, Kuwait risks more ministers who speak loudly yet fail to be believed.
By Abdulaziz Al-Anjeri
