ABSTRACT

In our liberal democracies we expect a great deal of our political leaders. From time to time they have to undergo a kind of public ordeal by aggressive questioning under the eye of rolling cameras. We the public scrutinize their performance closely to see how well they hold up. The rules of the game require the politician to remain fluent and unruffled. He must never seem to be taken aback; he must not pause for thought, nor be at a loss for words. A head of government in particular has to show that he or she has a panoramic view of the entire political and economic scene, and can instantly launch into a carefully considered statement of policy on any point that is raised. This calls for very great presence of mind. Politicians – Prime Ministers, for example – are expected always to be in full command both of their basic principles and of all the details, and of how to reconcile the two. They may show no weakness and make no mistakes. What they say has to be fully consistent both with their own past utterances and with what all their cabinet colleagues are currently saying. Furthermore, their statements have to totalize, in the sense of being consistent with each other and adding up to a coherent political philosophy.