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Leadership Effects in Parliamentary Elections in Australia and Britain

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 December 1989

Clive Bean  and
Anthony Mughan
Clive Bean
Affiliation:
Australian National University
Anthony Mughan
Affiliation:
Ohio State University
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Abstract

Political party leaders are an increasingly influential electoral force in contemporary liberal democracies. We test the hypothesis that their appeal is idiosyncratic, that is, that their electoral effect is a function of the leadership qualities voters perceive individual candidates as possessing. Thus, the less similar their personality profiles, the more the characteristics influencing the vote should differ from one leader to another. A comparison of Australia and Britain finds the opposite to be the case. Despite the divergent profiles of party leaders, the precise characteristics influencing the vote are remarkably similar in the two countries. This does not mean, however, that variation in the distribution of these characteristics is unimportant. It can affect the balance of the party vote and may even have been the difference between victory and defeat for the Australian Labor party in the closely fought 1987 election.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 83 , Issue 4 , December 1989 , pp. 1165 - 1179
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 1989

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