Between mirroring and compensation. A framework for the analysis of political leaders through their personal staffs

Paradigms of personalization address several factors to make sense of the concentration of power resources in the hands of political leaders. Roughly, three sets of explanations may be identified in the study of chief executives: combinations of institutional, contextual and psychological factors are usually seen as shaping the political capital of chief executives, allowing them to rule the domestic arena. Yet, how such features combine, and which ones prevail and when, remain largely unanswered questions. This paper offers a conceptual framework for the study of political leaders through the distinctive features of their personal staffs. A growing element in PM-dominated cabinets, political appointees are possibly the most reliable source of information on leadership styles, motivations and strategies. Moreover, the study of their characteristics provides valuable insights on what kind of advice and expertise the prime minister seeks, and why. The analysis focuses on the selection, employment and deployment of the intellectual resources at the prime minister’s disposal. It provides an empirically grounded explanation of how leaders perceive and prioritize their needs and preferences in response to institutional constraints, the political environment and psychological traits. It argues that (a) leaders behave according to logics of mirroring and compensation and that (b) personality has a major role in shaping their options with regard to personal aides. The Italian case shows a great variation in the organisation and use of prime ministerial aides over nearly 20 years, and allows to control for the institutional variable. The envisaged methodology combines in-depth qualitative interviews with PMs’ advisors, standardized measures of political strength and the personality assessment of six prime ministers, in order to encompass different psychological traits, leadership styles and political variables.