It has been quite some time since we had inspiring leaders who put the people ahead of themselves, led by example and united us all with hope and common purpose. In the midst of the worst health and financial global crisis in a century, the people of the world are looking up to their leaders for help, guidance and reassurance. Unfortunately, this is what they currently see:

No need for introduction, Trump has been leading the American nation through the COVID-19 crisis, like no other US President before:

“We have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It’s going to be just fine.”

“It’s going to disappear. One day, it’s like a miracle, it will disappear.”

“The Fake News Media and their partner, the Democrat Party, is doing everything within its semi-considerable power … to inflame the Coronavirus situation.”

“I felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic.”

“I always treated the Chinese Virus very seriously, and have done a very good job from the beginning, including my very early decision to close the ‘borders’ from China – against the wishes of almost all.”

“America will again, and soon, be open for business. We cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself.”

“If we did very little testing, we wouldn’t have the most cases. By doing all of this testing we make ourselves look bad. If we stop testing right now, we’d have very few cases, if any.”

Bolsonaro, the brazilian president, has repeatedly talked down the risks of Covid, describing it as a “little flu”. The South American nation has the second-highest number of Covid cases and deaths in the world, after the US.

“Brazilians may have a natural immunity to the coronavirus.”

“I don’t think it will reach that point (of high number of cases). Especially because Brazilians have to be studied. They don’t get anything. You see the guy jumping into the sewer there, going out, diving, right? And nothing happens to him.”

“I think a lot of people have already been infected in Brazil, a few weeks or months ago, and already have the antibodies that help not to proliferate it.”

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko is Europe’s longest-serving ruler who adopted communist principles since 1994. He ruled out lockdown measures like those seen elsewhere in Europe.

“There shouldn’t be any panic. You just have to work, especially now, in a village. Tractors will cure everyone! The field heals everyone!”

“I don’t drink but recently I’ve been saying that people should not only wash their hands with vodka but also poison the virus with it. You should drink the equivalent of 40-50 millilitres of rectified spirit daily. But not at work.”

“When you come out of the sauna, not only wash your hands, but also your insides with 100 millilitres [of vodka].”

The UK Prime Minister kicked off his official response to Covid-19 with complete denial. He ended up in ICU fighting for his life.

“At this stage, I want to stress that for the vast majority of the people of this country, we should be going about our business as usual.”

“The UK is aiming for “herd immunity” to the coronavirus.“

“I must level with you, level with the British public. Many families, many more families, are going to lose loved ones before their time.”

“It was a tough old moment, I won’t deny it. They had a strategy to deal with a ‘death of Stalin’-type scenario. I was not in particularly brilliant shape and I was aware there were contingency plans in place.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced a wave of protests in recent weeks, with demonstrators calling for the long-serving leader to resign, panning his handling of the coronavirus crisis, and saying he should not remain in office while on trial for corruption charges. Some call him “the magician”, for his ongoing political maneuver to stay in power. The crisis is also a useful backdrop for Netanyahu’s characteristic blend of fear mongering and arrogance.

“There are reports from overseas about reinfection. If this is true, the significance could be the end of humanity.”

“In the name of democracy, I see an attempt to trample on democracy.“

“These demonstrations are fuelled by a media mobilisation, the likes of which I can’t remember, North Korean-like. They do not report the demonstrations – they participate in them. They add fuel.“

And so, as we experience the Coronavirus second wave around the world, it is time to change our future – starting with replacing those leaders who had failed us. It is time!