What is it with politicians? It seems that not a year goes by without one of them, usually male, being accused of what is, at best, incredibly bad judgment and, at worst, blatantly unethical abuse of power. Often the problem is sexual in nature. And each and every time, we are shocked and amazed. We should not be. It is perfectly predictable and should be expected.
The latest is NY Governor Andrew Cuomo who is accused of subjecting several female subordinates to sexual harassment. When the first accusation emerged, he denied it outright. When the second became public, he explained that he was engaged in mentoring a younger person. It was intended to be a noble act; he was trying to help. Apparently, the subordinate did not realize this and, upon reflection, Governor Cuomo appreciates that his intentions could have been misconstrued. He now regrets this behavior and apologizes for it. Several more accusers have emerged since; he denies them all outright. He angrily terms calls for his resignation “cancel culture.”
In Dec of 2020, I wrote of the proclivity of politicians to engage in blatantly unethical, self-destructive, behaviors. Almost a decade earlier, in 2011, I penned two articles for the Huffington Post on the same topic. In both of those earlier articles, I said that we could expect to see these behaviors and the associated headlines again and again. I also predicted the course they would take. As I said in my August 2011 piece, “here we go again.” Well, here we go again; again.
In all of these blogs, I tried to explain how and why this happens so frequently. It is not simply that the peccadillos of famous people become known because they are of interest to the media and to us. There is really something about politicians that predisposes them to these kinds of behaviors, that prevents them from owning up to them, from understanding the hypocrisy of their public statements versus their private behaviors, from realizing the effect of what they have done on others, and of the damage they have inflicted on the issues they hold dear.
The psychological factors that underlie these recurring scandals are: Narcissism, Power Motivation, High Risk Taking, and a False Self. And politicians are more likely than others to display them all.
Narcissists are self-centered, grandiose, have a powerful need for attention and admiration, and tend to be low on empathy. This is an almost perfect stereotype of a politician. What kind of person is comfortable telling strangers that his opponent is unworthy whereas he will thrive in a high-prestige, powerful position? So a political career is attractive for someone with a narcissistic character style.
Power motivation is a drive to impact the world and/or others. People high in power motivation are competitive and want to be in charge. They crave prestige. Many also crave sexual admiration. Power motivation is pretty much a prerequisite for being a politician since it involves having an impact and being in charge.
Success in politics requires enormous risk. In elections, you either win or lose. There is no silver medal. It takes a special kind of person to put himself at risk in this way and tolerate the all or nothing stress of running for office. A person who takes such risks repeatedly does not limit himself to political risks. Big risks are part of his DNA. He needs them.
A politician must constantly monitor his words. A slip, an offhand comment, can be damaging, even fatal, politically. The political landscape is littered with elections lost and even careers ruined by offhand remarks. Politicians are aware of this. They are expert at deflecting questions and parsing their words. They have built up a public false self to protect themselves politically. Such people are under tremendous strain. They cannot display spontaneous emotion or candor. The emotion they do display is thought out and part of the role. As a result, they can lose their sense of who they are. The eminent psychiatrist, Donald Winnicott, wrote that the false self can explain apparently inexplicable self-destructive behavior:
So let’s put it all together. Begin with a self-centered, insensitive, person, who thinks he is special (Narcissist). Add a need to be in charge and have a major impact on others (Power Motivation). Throw in an attraction to risk, the bigger the better (High Risk Taking). This person takes up politics to meet these needs. It’s a perfect fit. In the service of these needs, he presents a false front of modesty, caring, service, and empathy. Every word is weighed in terms of how it serves or endangers his goals. He is under tremendous stress. He endorses attitudes and behaviors that serve his ends but that he may not actually believe in (False Self). He may not know himself what he believes in other than power, prestige, and admiration. He feels entitled to these things. Satisfying these needs entails great risk but he is attracted to risk. Lurking is also the potential self-destruction built into the false self. Desire, attraction to risk, and self-destructive impulses leads to dangerous behaviors that can destroy all he has so painstakingly built.
When caught, he does not feel guilt and remorse, he feels threatened. He does not understand the sense of betrayal others experience; it is about him, not them. He’ll first try to ride roughshod over it through denial, anger, and cover-up. Should that fail, he’ll try carefully crafted redemption in line with his public persona or False Self. That these efforts may strike others as transparently insincere would be lost on him. I named it the toxic tetrad of the political personality. It seems to be happening again. And pretty soon, we’ll see it yet again with another politician.
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March 15, 2021 at 09:09AM
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Here We Go Again: Another Politician Accused of Bad Behavior - Psychology Today
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