Gabriel Attal: The Appointment of France’s Youngest Prime Minister Highlights Africa’s Leadership Deficit

Thedailycourierng

The recent appointment of 34-year-old Gabriel Attal as France’s Prime Minister highlights the dearth of young leadership currently afflicting much of Africa. Attal becomes the youngest French PM since World War II, outstripping even the 37-year-old Laurent Fabius, who held the role briefly in the 1980s.

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In contrast, the average African leader is currently 63 years old. Authoritarian leaders in their 70s and 80s stubbornly cling to power across the continent, stifling younger voices advocating reform. Only one African nation—Burkina Faso—has a leader currently close to Attal.

This leadership deficit undermines Africa’s progress. With 60% of Africans under the age of 25, the ambitions and energies of youth are repressed by gerontocratic establishments. Vision is lacking to address 21st-century challenges like climate change, technology disruption, and migration flows that disproportionately impact the continent’s younger populations.

The appointment of Gabriel Attal in France reveals what African nations are missing by sidelining their youth. Dynamic, rising political stars are in touch with societal changes and are able to inspire hope for the future.

Attal’s meteoric rise from obscurity highlights his clear talents, which could reinvigorate Macron’s troubled second term. His brilliance as a parliamentary debater brought him into the president’s inner circle. After junior ministerial stints, Attal ably led Macron’s education reforms, standing up to entrenched interests. He connects with citizens, polling as France’s most admired politician.

While Macron likely hopes Attal’s youthful energy rubs off on his government, the choice also neutralizes the ethno-nationalist challenge from Marine Le Pen’s youthful protégé. This inter-generational political battle reveals how younger leaders can capture citizens’ imaginations or manipulate their grievances to destructive ends.

Across Africa, youth leadership is vital to channeling the restless energy of “youth bulges” in positive directions. With limited economic opportunities and a lack of political voice, Africa’s youth become vulnerable to radicalization or selector migration. More youth at the table could lead innovations in digital governance, transparent institutions to combat corruption, and 21st-century education models to capitalize on AI and green technologies.

Africa has a strong tradition of elevating elders as wisdom figures—a cultural norm leaders have used to justify staying in office for decades. However, wisdom and experience rarely correlate with age alone. A mix of older statespeople and vigorous youth could blend idealism with practical instincts and expertise.

Exceptions like Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin show youthfulness need not undermine effective governance. With political will, African leaders can make space for a new generation rather than changing constitutions to extend their own tenures.

Promising initiatives like African Leadership University aim to develop 25,000 ethical entrepreneurial leaders for Africa by 2025. But political leadership should also tap this human capital. Projects pre-selecting youth talent for political apprenticeships could assist this transition.

So while Gabriel Attal’s appointment made headlines for shaking up the old order in France, Africa desperately needs similar youth movements to shake up its gerontocracies. With foresight and commitment to mentoring successors, Africa’s elders could leave a living legacy by putting young leaders on a path to drive development for decades to come.

Source Gabriel Attal: Macron’s pick for PM is France’s youngest at 34

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