Formally, John Lee’s role as Chief Executive is to set direction, supervise the administration, and be ultimately accountable when living quality stalls and civil servants underperform.[ceo.gov]

Constitutional role and responsibility

• Under the Basic Law, the Chief Executive is the head of the HKSAR, responsible for implementing laws, leading the government, and being accountable both to the Central People’s Government and to Hong Kong.[chinadailyhk]
• He is supposed to pursue “people‑based governance” and a “results‑oriented” approach: improving housing, services and competitiveness so that citizens feel a real upgrade in quality of life.[ceo.gov]

When living quality slows

• If housing, healthcare, transport, or social mobility are stagnating, this is ultimately a failure of governance at the top, because the CE has the power to set priorities, allocate resources and push structural reforms.[chinadailyhk]
• The editorial you showed is effectively saying: he has achieved some things, but must use his remaining term more proactively to push reforms instead of just “steady‑as‑it‑goes”, so that quality of life really improves.[scmp]

Managing civil servants’ performance

• Hong Kong’s civil service is large and rule‑bound, so frontline “failure” often reflects weak management, incentives, and accountability systems, which the CE is supposed to reform.[scmp]
• John Lee has responded by proposing tougher appraisal and reward‑and‑punishment mechanisms: underperforming senior civil servants can face pay freezes or even retirement “in the public interest”, while strong performers can receive a CE award.[scmp]

So what is his role as “governor”?

• Strategically: define clear targets (KPIs for housing, healthcare, service efficiency, etc.), remove bureaucratic obstacles, and align bureaus so policies actually land on the ground.[scmp]
• Politically: accept that “the buck stops with him” when quality of life and civil service performance fall short, and be willing to change people, structures and policies rather than only talk about external pressures.[scmp]

From your perspective, which area of “living quality” failure worries you most right now: housing, public services efficiency, or overall economic prospects?