LONDON -- Hardly a day goes by without someone deploring the lack of political and economic leadership in our world. Commentators bemoan that with the departure of politicians like former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl the world is bereft of political leadership.

All this moaning about a lack of leadership is surely a reflection of our own lack of vision and courage. Certainly we need more people with vision who are ready to press their views without fear or favor. But do we need the ruthless egocentrics who stand out in any list of the so-called great leaders of the 20th century? All were seriously flawed, if only because they did not know when to go.

Both Thatcher and Kohl achieved a great deal of importance for Britain and Germany, but both stayed in their jobs too long, believing wrongly that they were indispensable. They also became increasingly set in their ways and would not see that the world had changed faster than they had. However they at least accepted that they had to go if the democratic voters in Britain and Germany wanted them out. They also had their own ethical standards and stood up for the principles of democracy and the rule of law.