Cardano does not have clear leadership. Previously, it was IOG, Cardano Foundation (CF), and EMURGO. Charles Hoskinson was perceived as the leader. After the introduction of on-chain governance, the model evolved as follows: DReps → governance decision-making Pentad → leadership and execution DReps decide on Treasury spending, so they give legitimacy to the strategy that Pentad offers. This situation is given mainly because DReps are not coordinated. So they cannot define the strategy and prioritize. Therefore, on-chain governance is still dependent on the founding entities. We have decentralized governance, but still strongly centralized leadership and execution. A strong player is Intersect, because it plays the role of coordinator. For example, it prepares the Budget Framework process. Intersect has to balance the role of facilitator and leader, because it may not want to be a leader. Not being a leader means that it does not bearing responsibility. Leadership without responsibility does not work. On-chain governance is not the same as leadership. A leader bears responsibility, but we don’t have one. Responsibility is diluted somewhere between Pentad and DReps. The problem is that leadership and execution can only be decentralized with difficulty, if at all. That’s why it’s fragmented now. New leaders may be born. We may see a struggle for leadership. Or, it stays the same. Leadership should not be in a vacuum in the name of decentralization. Where to transfer leadership? The logical direction is towards DReps. For DReps to have a stronger position, it must be coordinated. Something like a DRep board must emerge. DReps should be responsible not only for Treasury spending, but also for actively defining strategy and prioritizing. Effective execution requires centralization, but it is still possible to involve DReps in the process through cooperation with existing executors or by introducing DAOs. DAOs could take responsibility for supporting builders, ecosystem growth, innovation, marketing, open-source activities, etc. A stronger coordination layer is needed among DReps and founding entities + Intersect. This can only be built if DReps have a clearly defined coordination layer between themselves and between sub-DAOs. Founding entities can provide expertise, knowledge, and experience, while DReps will define the direction from the bottom up. The evolution of the governance system will allow for a dialogue between DReps and founding entities. Currently, communication is practically non-existent. It is done through on-chain proposals. The result will likely be a rejected proposal regarding Summit and TOKEN2049. FEs may think that their activities can be funded from the Treasury forever, while DReps may think the opposite. The goal is to find a consensus on the future functioning. This path is not easy. There are many obstacles ahead that we will have to overcome. However, governance needs to be more effective, so we have to try.