The Four Kinds of Politico
By Emma.
I’ve been in and around politics for a long, long time. I’ve never really been “inside”, but I’ve been close enough to study the beast at work and play. So it strikes me that there are four basic types of politico. But that we all the propensity to be each type of politco depending on the forces bearing on us. Some react well to the challenges of Government, some can’t bear the compromises entailed. Some react well to opposition, some give in to bleak despair refusing to rebuild, wallowing only in the ashes of past glories. All of us at times have succumbed to the differing traits of the politico models.
The Optimist
The optimist can only see the good in any given situation. Your party is at 8 in the polls – well that always happens. Your ministers are making terrible decisions – well that’s the compromise of a new situation (some recent Lib Dem contributions I have read manage to hold these contradictory positions within the same post). There is a lot to be said for optimism. It cheers the troops and keeps the spirits up for the next fight. However, it can veer rapidly into complacency. Polly Toynbee’s recent column went far too far from hopeful to blind optimism. Optimists are a necessary part of the world politicos inhabit, but should always be well tempered with realists and pessimists.
The Realist
the realist tempers the optimist but understands the value of optimism. they know that politics has to be about presenting a positive vision as well as simply doing down your opponents and hoping for the best. This Anthony Painter column may be about optimism, but it’s about how that must be harnessed and translated to the real world. Realists see the world as it is, understand the obstacles and troubles facing their party and use every tool at their command, be it the fear of the pessimists or the energy of the optimists to negotiate a path through. Realists are what we all think we are. Realist are who none of us are all of the time, but it is the point a lot fo us reach when veering between pessimist and optimist.
The Pessimist
Pessimists aren’t good at answers but they are extremely adept at spotting where the problems lie and discussing them sensibly. This post by Rob Marchant is a pretty good example. He’s meticulous in outlining the danger’s inherent in Labour’s current strategy. Pessimists don’t get downhearted because they expect to lose. But they also aren’t what you’d call inspiring.
The Nihilist
The nihilist was probably once an optimist. But an optimist that took so badly to losing, to getting it wrong that they zoomed through realism, past pessimism to wallow in a nihilistic pit of despair. The nihilist no longer cares about their party winning or losing, they care only for their status as a self appointed Cassandra. “You’ll all be sorry when I am proved right” they think, while they go about furiously trying to make their grim predictions come true. This piece where Dan Hodges finally tips over from extreme pessimism to nihilistic narcissism shows how easy it can be. It’s great to feel like you’re the only one who’s right, who knows the truth, but as I have written before - it actually damages deeply your credibility and those who fight alongside you. Nihilism usually comes from a trauma in your past that leaves you feeling that you cannot win. Reading Dan’s piece, I can’t help but think that like so many before him Dan too is fighting the 1992 election over and over again.
To build a successful team in politics, you have to have a blend of people. You can’t simply fill your life with Pollyannas who never see dangers, nor can you spend time only with those who see nothing but the bumps in the road and not the bright horizon. But you simply cannot be dragged down by dead weight. I think Dan Hodges is a great writer. I hope he takes time to have a good break over the holidays and manages to work his way up from nihilist to pessimist so he can once again be helpful rather than destructive to the Labour cause. I hope Polly Toynbee can reign it in a bit and that no one follows her brand of casual complacency.
I hope the rest of us continue to find the best parts of our realist, optimist and pessimist senves and continue to fight the good fight.
