Why is the leadership in CEE weaker than in Western Europe or the US/Canada?

Leadership in CEE is weaker than in Canada and the United States because for most of the 20th century were under the totalitarian regime, first and shortly Nazism and then communism. At the time of the communist regime, freedom of citizens' joining in groups was limited and controlled, which marked the development of civil society in the long run. This affected the mentality of citizens who are not prone to self-organization and responsibility but think the state is obliged to solve their problems. The big problem was there were no democratic elections, so people do not have a sense of following-up, nor of the leadership. Former communist states have paternalistic attitudes towards its citizens, and public affairs are reserved only for eligible people, who are already part of the ruling party. Because of that citizens do not trust the institutions of the state, or each other. Likewise, leaders of certain civil society organizations sometimes want to achieve political goals which can harm their civic activism and work for the common good.