Lecture 5: Party Leaders

Question 1

expectations of party leaders

Answer 1

Political leaders are expected to personify their nations and parties to embody national myths, dreams, and values

Question 2

Qualities voters look for in political leaders in Canada

Answer 2

• Honesty
• Intelligence
• Friendliness
• Sincerity
• Trustworthiness

Question 3

images and political leaders

Answer 3

• Recent studies have shown that images play a critical role when members of the public are evaluating politicians
• Image-making is increasingly important for leaders

Question 4

physical descriptions and political leaders

Answer 4

Physical descriptions are also important; Trimble et al. (2015) find that “newspaper reports about leadership candidates’ bodies reiterate and reinforce hegemonic gender norms”

Question 5

Trimble et al. bodies and political leadership findings

Answer 5

• After a systematic analysis of newspaper articles about 30 candidates for 13 Canadian national party leadership contests held between 1975 and 2012, focusing on depictions of candidates’ bodies, they found that “only certain bodies are seen to embody and personify political leadership”
• “Black women were noticed for their visual dissonance from the prototypical body of the political leader, as news coverage highlighted their physical characteristics in ways that marked them as aberrant and inauthentic in their desire for political power. Men with physiques incompatible with idealized masculinity were also presented as incapable of offering commanding performances on the political stage. We conclude that deeply held cultural norms, based on hegemonic masculinity, heteronormativity, and racism, are expressed in news mediation of political leadership competitions.” (p. 325)

Question 6

four eras of selecting party leaders

Answer 6

• first era (first 50 years)
• second era (1919–1960s)
• third era (1960s–)
• fourth era (Late 1980s–)

Question 7

first era (first 50 years)

Answer 7

leadership determined by the legislative caucus

Question 8

Second era (1919–1960s)

Answer 8

leadership determined by convention delegates, but the elite-driven composition of delegates; far from representative

Question 9

Third era (1960s–)

Answer 9

leadership determined by convention delegates, but more emphasis on greater inclusiveness and constituency delegates

Question 10

Fourth era (Late 1980s–)

Answer 10

Direct election and hybrid models seen as more democratic than past delegate models

Question 11

William Cross Ch.5: Selection of Party Leaders

Answer 11

• History of leadership in Canada (four eras)
• Pros and cons of leadership selection models
• Challenges surrounding leadership reviews

Question 12

Flora: Scenes from a Leadership Convention

Answer 12

This feature documentary offers an incisive look at Canadian politics at the 1976 Progressive Conservative Party leadership convention. Cape Bretoner Flora MacDonald is campaigning for the Party’s leadership, the first woman to do so. We follow MacDonald behind the scenes as she works with her staff to prepare policies, speeches, and strategies to win the race. We also get a glimpse of MacDonald’s sprightly and upbeat attitude as she puts her best foot forward in front of voters, media, and the Party’s elite.”

Question 13

Flora MacDonald on women in leadership

Answer 13

“Because women do not perceive themselves in the role of the leader, therefore they find it difficult to perceive another woman in the role of a leader. The more that that position is tried for by women, the more it explodes that myth.”

Question 14

Durest-Lahti, 2010 on female leadership

Answer 14

Because of the cultural association between masculinity and leadership “a woman tends to have a harder time both in seeing herself as a leader and in being seen as a leader.”

Question 15

how are leaders assessed by the media?

Answer 15

Political leaders are assessed by the media for qualities like political acumen, vigorousness, integrity, responsiveness, communicative performances, and consistency

Question 16

Wagner, Trimble, and Sampert (2019) on gendered traits and their relationship with leadership traits

Answer 16

• Men: ambitious, analytical, intelligent, decisive, and experienced
• Women: honest, compassionate, consensus-builders, loyal, shy, soft-spoken, and yielding

Question 17

men vs. women’s leadership traits

Answer 17

Men are assumed to have traits for leadership, women must prove they do

Question 18

party leaders key conclusions

Answer 18

• Political leaders are expected to personify their nations and parties
• Leaders try to portray qualities like honesty, intelligence, friendliness, sincerity, and trustworthiness
• Leadership selection methods affect the type of “politicking” required from a leader
• Party leaders have significant power in the Canadian political system; the history of party leadership selection has been one of a trend toward an expanded electorate, but some argue at the expense of collective decision-making and accommodation
• Movement towards more inclusive, democratic models of party leader selection, but at the cost of more accommodative practices and increased influence of the media
• The cultural association between masculinity and leadership is replicated in media discourses (heightened in the political arena)
• While some prerequisites for a party leader shared (bilingualism), women candidates were subjected to more negative and gendered assessments of other communication skills and political acumen; little evidence of change over time, and gendered mediation heightened when women set to achieve a “historic first”