Issue 146

The Politics of personality - Dan Shaws Thoughts

09th October 2006

As you read this the party conferences will have just concluded, and once again we have seen a rehash of previous conferences: the ascent of personalities over the hard issues of politics and policy.

Nowadays the media seems to get more excited with a scandal or controversy surrounding a politician than their policies. Why is this?

We pay politicians with our taxes in order that they can do a job for society; namely to competently lead it, make decisions and provide opposition. We don't pay them to slag each other off, or criticise other ministers for something that they did in university twenty years ago.

As a result of this "Punch and Judy politics" a good political leader's qualities nowadays seem to be the ability to smile for the camera, be young and energetic, make speeches with over - emphatic hand gestures, and to be able to wade through any controversial event and come out smelling of roses. Tony Blair's longevity has had very little to do with political ability - although it is impossible to doubt for an instant that he has the stuff in bucket loads - but the ability to weasel his way out of any tight spot. The Hutton report? Dodged. Iraq? Not his fault. John Prescott? Eat less pies. Loans for peerages? Avoided for the time being, but time will tell. It's taken a while, but he's slowly become more and more culpable for his mistakes, and its about time too.

Personalities have therefore become more and more blurred across the political spectrum into an indistinguishable mass that is guaranteed to win votes and minimise damage from controversy, meaning that those who have genuinely different personalities - the odd, the eccentric, and occasionally downright weird - are seen as dangerous and off message. Boris Johnson, for example, is often regarded as being dangerously off message at times by his own party through his habit of saying exactly what he thinks about a matter. but isn't that what we want from politicians?

For them to say exactly what they think about a matter, not what will avoid controversy with the general public? Johnson may be off message alot of the time and constantly putting his foot in it, but that doesnt stop him being well loved simply because of his eccentricity. Whilst any effective leader will tell you just how important personality is in motivating people - very, as it turns out - it would be nice if politicians acted more like human beings than the controversy avoiding automons that they automatically seem to become upon taking the reigns. It is entirely possible to be a successful political leader and embrace controversy - Winston Churchill was a cigar smoking, whiskey drinking Kurd killer yet I regard him to be the finest politician that Britain has ever had.

Dan Shaw