By Apiyo David
Electoral behavior, popular predispositions of politicians of party leaders or individual candidates tend to overshadow ideological affiliations and institutional agencies. The line between the public and the private which bridges the gap between the realm of politics and a present-day citizenry, has becomes blurred in the twilight of a NASA democracy.
Personal appeal and popular appeal of individual political figures in political competition, range from the refinement of the classic notion of charismatic authority, leadership, communication – style, emotional expression and to psychological constellations Image-making and political branding. All this characteristics in candidate’s personality are key to success? Curiously enough, political science debates, the notion of appeal is often attributed to the realm of electoral campaigning and the strategic communication of political elites who issue appeals to win over their electorates. This is generally a candidate-driven phenomenon, a matter of calculating tactics to attract votes or policy-support- an “appeal”. Thesaurus, refers the word appeal, to the power of irresistible attraction, magnetism, captivation, and enchantment. This word denotes ‘influence,’ this is what has effect on voters and that is what brings electoral success.
I will presume the premise that “the image of a candidate is essentially “in the eyes of the beholder” and thus voter-driven rather than candidate-driven, the both of you should know Voters’ predispositions towards political personas on an individual level are linked to their cognitive judgement – assessment of politicians’ personality across different dimensions and traits. You should also Know conscientiousness and agreeableness, are uncontested predictors of a leader’s popular appeal and that openness to experience – is more complicated as it covers sensitivity to aesthetic experience, spirituality, creativity and the propensity to embrace novelty.
If both of you were to honestly assess the state and level of your political leadership personalities, you will find out amongst you whose personality dimensions differ in terms of their impact on a political leader’s appeal and carries the voter’s affinity.- integrity, honesty, morality, competence (intelligence), empathy, consistency and reliability all put together,
Classic predictors of electoral outcomes tell us that the roots of political leadership is ’ personal appeal’ Like it or not the higher a politician is rated in agreeableness traits, the more attractive he is to voters, despite his socio-demographic differences, ideology, value conflicts, party support, or level of political trust and interest.
Kenyans are not interested in a democratic “belly dance” called power sharing fomular , We are interested in moral leadership, complemented by high performance, discipline, and efficiency, regardless of how, or if, the political game or the (post) modern citizenry has changes. That’s the essence of political representation and not a style. The inconsistency of the impact of your personality dimensions across politicians leads is irrelevant. Sort yourselves out. Amongst you, you know who is a leader and who is not.
Before you loose another election in the next 100 days
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