ABSTRACT
The interview performance of politicians is, of course, regularly evaluated by journalists, political commentators and other politicians. Up to now this is not an issue which has been addressed by academic research. Nevertheless, it can be evaluated in terms of the face model of political interviews, just as can the performance of interviewers. Indeed, the concept of face management has the particular advantage that a politician’s communicative skill can be appraised irrespective of a politician’s political stance. Instead, analysis can be focussed on how well each politician succeeds in presenting that stance, in terms both of personal face and the face of the party which he or she represents.
