Back in February, I made the point that you don't need to speak Arabic to tell that Mubarak isn't much of an orator - which has been illustrated by several more video clips from speeches in Arabic since then.
The recent visit of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabato the UK has now given us a few rare glimpses of a top Chinese politician speaking and, though I understand not a word of the language, his delivery is a reminder of much the same point.
In a caption to a picture of the young Fidel Castro in my book Our Masters' Voices (1984, p. 4), I'd written: 'Skillful public speaking can be readily recognized even in those whose politics we may disagree with, and whose languages we do not understand.'
The earlier blogpost on Mubarak continued as follows - but could just as well have been prompted by this speech from Mr Wen:
What fascinated me then - and still does - is the fact that we don't have to be able to understand Spanish or German to be able to recognise that Castro and Hitler were highly effective orators.
The opposite is also the case: you don't have to be able to understand Arabic to be able to tell at a glance that Egyptian President Mubarak is a long way from the Premier League when it comes to public speaking ...
The rise of the ineffective orator
Much the same can be said of other second and third generation revolutionary leaders. Compared with Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki was a bit short in the communication skills department. So too were Stalin, Khruschev and Brezhnev in comparison with Lenin (and I don't speak Russian, either).
The point is that, once a new order is established, behind the scenes committee work, plotting, befriending the right people, bumping off or otherwise disposing of rivals, winning support of the right factions and organisations , etc. become far more important than being able to appeal to a mass audience of people whose votes will determine your rise or fall.
Nor, if you can get to the top job - like so many leaders of Arab nations outside Egypt - by being the favoured relation of the previous head of a ruling family, do you have to worry about anything so tiresome as being able to move, persuade and inspire mass audiences.
The quietly spoken people's premier?
Having watched Mr Wen in action, I was intrigued to see that the Wikipedia entry on him actually singles out the way he speaks as worth a mention:
In a caption to a picture of the young Fidel Castro in my book Our Masters' Voices (1984, p. 4), I'd written: 'Skillful public speaking can be readily recognized even in those whose politics we may disagree with, and whose languages we do not understand.'
The earlier blogpost on Mubarak continued as follows - but could just as well have been prompted by this speech from Mr Wen:
What fascinated me then - and still does - is the fact that we don't have to be able to understand Spanish or German to be able to recognise that Castro and Hitler were highly effective orators.
The opposite is also the case: you don't have to be able to understand Arabic to be able to tell at a glance that Egyptian President Mubarak is a long way from the Premier League when it comes to public speaking ...
The rise of the ineffective orator
Much the same can be said of other second and third generation revolutionary leaders. Compared with Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki was a bit short in the communication skills department. So too were Stalin, Khruschev and Brezhnev in comparison with Lenin (and I don't speak Russian, either).
The point is that, once a new order is established, behind the scenes committee work, plotting, befriending the right people, bumping off or otherwise disposing of rivals, winning support of the right factions and organisations , etc. become far more important than being able to appeal to a mass audience of people whose votes will determine your rise or fall.
Nor, if you can get to the top job - like so many leaders of Arab nations outside Egypt - by being the favoured relation of the previous head of a ruling family, do you have to worry about anything so tiresome as being able to move, persuade and inspire mass audiences.
The quietly spoken people's premier?
Having watched Mr Wen in action, I was intrigued to see that the Wikipedia entry on him actually singles out the way he speaks as worth a mention:
"Soft-spoken and known for his strong work ethic, Wen has been one of the most visible members of the incumbent Chinese administration, and has been dubbed 'the people's premier' by both domestic and foreign media."
Soft-spoken, yes - but as for whether he deserves the title 'people's premier', I confess to having a few doubts.
Soft-spoken, yes - but as for whether he deserves the title 'people's premier', I confess to having a few doubts.