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The allure – and danger – of the charismatic leader
From Donald Trump to Elon Musk, it is worth examining the driving power behind a cult of personality.
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Former US president Donald Trump managed to convince one in three Americans that the 2020 election had been stolen.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Jemima Kelly
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Give someone a list of political leaders and ask which of them have charisma and which don’t, and you will almost always get the same answers. Mr Barack Obama, Mr Tony Blair, Mrs Margaret Thatcher, Donald Trump? Albeit with varying degrees of enthusiasm, it’s a yes. Mr Rishi Sunak, Ms Liz Truss, Ms Kamala Harris, Mr Ron DeSantis? An emphatic no.
Nailing down exactly what it means, though, doesn’t seem quite so straightforward. What does someone in possession of charisma actually have?
