Four models of political leadership

 

Four models of political leadership

Future Leader

• Statesman

• Demagogue

• Ordinary Politician

• Citizen-Leader

A statesman is a political vision who has vision, individual allure, practical wisdom, and concern for the public interest whose administration benefits society.

The Characteristics of Statesmen are 

• The pursuit of the common good. 

• A vision of the public good, no matter how attractive it may be, will be useless without people who have that vision who do not know how to achieve it. 

• Political expertise. For example, running a giant bureaucracy, directing the staff, cooperating with legislators to pass government programs, and mobilizing public opinion regarding administrative policies. 

• Amazing opportunity. The statesman was born with a critical condition. When a country is in a vortex of saturation, boredom, stagnation, disorientation, or war, this is where statesmen are generally born. 

• Good luck. Sometimes, a statesman is born out of good fortune. Sometimes it is also said that he was blessed by the Almighty to carry the burden of his society and country.

A demagogue is somebody who utilizes his or her administration abilities to acquire public office by attracting public fear, prejudice, and then abusing the power he or she has gotten for personal gain.

The characteristics of a demagogue are: 

• He or she exploits public prejudice. A demagogue is very sensitive to social prejudices that developments in society. He or she then portrays himself as standing on the side of society in relation to the prejudices that arise. This role was accompanied by a series of promises that he would ensure that these prejudices would be overcome if he took up political office. 

• Often distorts the truth. Truth is nothing more than a political commodity. If the truth is not in line with his practice of reaching power, he or she will distort it. 

• The distortion is largely reinforced by the various "strong" facts that he or she compiled so that the distortion makes sense. 

• Making sweet promises to gain political power. Moreover, if the promise is quite popular with a large enough audience share. Once again, for a demagogue, promises are a political commodity that he or she will use as a campaign instrument to strengthen his or her position compared to his or her other competitors. It is not awkward to use methods that are considered less moral.

An ordinary politician is a holder of public office who is prepared to sacrifice previously held principles or put away unpopular policies in order to be re-elected.

Characteristics of Ordinary Politicians are: 

• No vision and bright talent. An ordinary politician looks less shining. It is only in the "around" without ever being the center of the direction of a society. The vision that he or she has is too general, less attractive, "ordinary", and seems to be taken for granted. His or her talent may be natural or "genuine," but the public view him or her as "flat," "common," and "less attractive." 

• Ordinary politicians do not live for the long term, but for the short term. He or she is only concerned with how to keep him or her entrenched in the circle of power. 

• Ordinary politicians should not be expected to talk about moral or ethical issues. Moral and ethical issues are not a priority in his or her position. Oftentimes, ordinary politicians want to do something good. However, this desire is often limited by his or her desire to please all parties. 

• He or she tries to be neutral, even when he or she is in a tight position to choose. He or she only made a choice if there was a belief that the choice brought him or her to another safe point. 

• For ordinary politicians, the struggle to stay in the maelstrom of power is more important than showing his true self. Although they are generally not corrupt, they are actually very easy to bribe. Because they are reluctant to tackle political risks, they adopt a non-corrupt image. 

• In general, they are difficult to distinguish from other citizens in general. They are too ordinary, so the behavior they show on the screen or mass media is exactly the same as our behavior, our family, or our friends. The difference is, we, our family, or our friends do not have the power to make public policies. These ordinary politicians can.

A citizen-leader is a person who influences the government convincingly despite the fact that the person does not hold an authority government office.

Characteristics of the Citizen - Leader are:

• Have a unique devotion to society. They have, for a long time, been active in leading a segment of society in fighting for their beliefs and position in the politics of a country. 

• They almost no longer have a life of privacy because almost all the time, they have to move, work, and deal with the problems of the segment of society they represent. 

• They are the ones who often face formal powers, argue, and receive sanctions for their belief in service. It is difficult to ask them for something formal in nature because even the formal state power in their opinion is already informal. 

• Citizen-leader is believed to have extraordinary charm within them. This magnet is what makes his or her followers even willing to give their loyalty to him or her. This attraction can be a unique blend of blessings from the Almighty with his leadership talents. His or her courage is above average, thus attracting people to become his or her followers. 

• Dare to be different is definitely a quality that exists in a citizen-leader. His or her courage is far above the average of those around him. The courage he or she has is contagious to his or her followers so that the struggle he or she brings has enough stamina for a long duration.

Of course, the four types of political leadership above are ideal. There is no single political leadership today that is purely one of the four models. There tends to be a mix of two or more of the models. It is up to us as observers to judge any political leader when exercising his or her power. If we want to know the character of a person, give him or her power.