The idea of political personality is very old. People have always thought about the habits and qualities of the kings, rulers, conquerors, Statesmen, ministers, politicians, judges, administrators, and other men of authority. But the development of psychology, psychiatry and especially psycho-analysis has made the concept of ‘political personality’ qualitatively different firon) the earlier concepts.
Political personality may be defined as the enduring, organised and dynamic response-behaviour which is habitually expressed in a political situation. In other words, the habitual patterns of feeling, learning, knowing and behaving in leadership situations constitute political personality. In short, it is the leadership qualities of an individual.
The political personality of an individual is formed by his need or urge for power and control over others and his reactions to their opposition and resistance. He is confronted with such a situation from early childhood in his family life to adult age. Its formation depends not only upon the individual’s psychology and character but also on the national character, social and political system in which he lives and the political culture and national character of the people of his country.16 In short, political personality is formed by the life-processes of an individual: patterns of one’s need for power, expressed through need-coping mechanisms (e.g. repression, stimulation, ego-striving, etc.), modified by his perceptions of reality and habits of learning, and screened through ideological influences.
Political personality must be ‘dynamic1, that is, it must be capable of doing something important or achieving such a change as desired by the group or people around the leader. In other words, a political leader must be a man or woman of action. This quality differentiates and distinguishes a political leader from a man of letters, a scholar or a philosopher. Sher Shah Suri, the Pathan Emperor of India, explained this quality succinctly as thus: “It behoves the great to be always active.” A* political leader must possess dynamism, which means the ability to change the behaviour of others. He should, therefore, be at once a man of words as well as of action, but more essentially of action. In past ages, political personality was mostly formed by the ideology and culture of the country in which the leader arose. But in present times, it is also influenced by international conditions and culture.
Various forms of political personality:
Political personality is different in different political systems. The personality of a parliamentarian is different from that of a leader of a political party. This is the reason why sometimes a powerful party leader proves to be a poor parliamentarian, or he may become a failure as a ruler. Similarly, a good judge may be a bad administrator, and vice versa. Even the political personality of the leaders of various political parties differ from each other, e.g., the political personality of the leader of a socialist party is different from that of a conservative party, of a religious party from that of a progressive party and so on.
The reason lies in the differences in party ideology as well as of the political environment of the party and of the group of people among whom they work.