In other words (whisper it), just like Mr Blair.For those who look at things this way, the electoral battle will be fought on competence rather than ideology.
Given the known importance of facial inferences of competence in predicting actual electoral outcomes [4], this finding suggests that one factor underlying the political gender gap is the impression that voters have of male politicians as more competent than female politicians.
His reputation for competence underpins his party's electoral chances.
But this 'matching model' depends crucially on implicit, contestable presuppositions about the proper functioning of the electoral process and about the forms of competence required for good citizenship presuppositions associated with the social choice conception of democracy.
Attractiveness is more highly linked with electoral success than either trustworthiness or perceived competence.
Voter assessments of party competence have become a key explanation of electoral decision-making.
Lacking an electoral mandate, the party has built its legitimacy on managerial competence and national strength, particularly with economic growth and engineering prowess.
To conclude, our findings do not mean that issue competence is not an important factor in explaining electoral choices.
A debate about public spending and debt enables the Conservatives to rest their electoral appeal on a claim to relative rather than absolute economic competence.
Labour leads in polls of voting intention but persistently lags behind the Conservatives on economic competence, often a better indication of a party's electoral prospects.
