Create unity, stop wars, update education, and provide jobs are among changes to make. This is what The Epoch Times reporters from Czech Republic to Algeria discovered when they asked locals: “If you could be leader of your country for a day what major change(s) would you make?”
Kristina Adamova, 24, Receptionist
This is a topic which could be hours of debate. I think, in each country people worldwide suffer from problems as corruption, poverty … against which it is difficult to fight and cannot be changed in one day. But, of course, if it were in my power it would be first thing to change. What concerns me especially, I would like to increase the visibility of our country, because people in the world know little about it, which is certainly a shame. And no one has been able to change it until now.
Otakar Olbort, 75, Retired Maintenance Worker
First, I would introduce “school teaches, family brings up”—that’s fundamental. I remember that very well when I was a kid. Today, parents go and trash the teacher. They don’t realize that family brings up and school teaches. Then, I guess if I ask school children to sing the anthem … in my view there is too little focus on our republic in the curriculum to help today’s youth to pull together. That’s a great fault.
Rado Diankov, 69, Oboe Soloist
To summarize, the first action I would take would be education, since it is the base for all the rest. The second thing would be taxes because some capitalist countries nowadays look like communist ones, since the amount of taxes is huge and this means leaving the decision of where to allocate the resources to the supposedly “wise” state and I have no doubt that individuals would be more efficient at doing this. So I would put taxes down to a minimum.
Benyahia Mourad, 31, Technical Manager
I would change the education system in Algeria because it’s so retired in education. The teachers are not very good. We don’t have enough high schools, but I would provide!
Donna Dimmick, 46, Cottage Industry
I would discontinue selling our national public assets to pay debts. These assets belong to the people of Queensland, [Australia]. For example, it’s on the drawing board to sell our road systems. In the past, these kind of changes have led to lower standards and higher user pay rates, when at present they are free.
Irhal Sharma, 35, Physician
It’s unity. I want political parties to work together, more closely. In that way we can make progress in health care, finance, and a lot of other things. Right now they are too defiant with each other.
Silvia Bolengo, 54, Accountant
Fairness for everybody. If I were the head of government for one day, I would place the minimum and maximum limits clearly defined for both public and private salaries, for judges, etc., and also for retirement pension. Then, depending on each person’s level of responsibility and work, I would adjust these minimum and maximum limits.
Pete Watt, 36, University Lecturer in Hispanic Studies
I would stop all the wars that we are participating in and pay reparations to the countries we’ve destroyed. I would end all investments in armaments. I would initiate fundamental changes toward clean, green energy. I would jail the bankers who created the crisis. And I would take their wealth and all the wealth of the richest people and distribute it to people who need it.
Egile Fixe, 31, Housewife
I would give jobs to the unemployed people and would increase the “bolsa família” [government program of direct income transfer on a conditional basis, which benefits families in poverty and extreme poverty] because there are a lot of unemployed people [in Brazil].
Gillian Ytsma, 59, School Teacher
I would mainly focus on young people. The first thing I would do is get rid of student loans, and ensure that young people have a job to go to, and hopefully get work experience so that they don't need to go straight onto the dole. I would also make more low cost housing available for responsible families and pleasant housing estates for low income families so that they don't have to live in squalor. It would also be cost effective to make these houses insulated; the government has stopped doing that now.
Adrian Jarosinski, 18, College Student
First thing that I would do is to prohibit selling legal drugs in Smart Shops. They are selling drug supplements, which are based on drugs, but these are chemical compounds, which are not forbidden in Poland, and are being sold so the people get intoxicated. I would totally ban them, and that would be the first thing that I would do if I were a leader for a day. This is the first thing that comes to my mind.
Look for the Global Q&A column every week. The Epoch Times correspondents interview people around the world to learn about their lives and perspectives on local and global realities. Next week’s global question: “How do you feel when you hear about human rights abuses that happen around the world?”
