Part 2 of my examination of world politics.
It’s conventional wisdom that bald men do less well in elections than people with more luxuriant hair covering. Donald Trump’s streaming locks show that even comb-over can help a candidate with his success. Boris Johnson’s hair was clearly important to him, and did the job of persuading the electorate that an egotistical, opportunist liar was just the man we needed to steer the nation through difficult times.
Mute Swan
Biden did well, with his hairline, to oust Trump. Boris was initially replaced by a woman, an experiment the Americans have not yet tried, and then by Rishi Sunak, who has an enviably elegant hair cut, but is terribly, terribly deficient in other factors needed for electoral success. Yes, it’s inches that count. American research shows that the tallest candidate normally wins these days. It hasn’t always been the same, but in days of television it does seem to be the way. Eisenhower was balding and only 5ft 10½ inches and probably wouldn’t have won if TV had been better established. Tall enough and hairy enough to lead the Allied Armies to victory in Normandy, it’s strange to think that in modern times he would probably not have been elected.
Why is all this? Is it because tall, hairy men are seen as more virile? Or is it, as some research suggests, merely because they are used in advertising to depict desirable characteristics? This is an interesting examination of the question – from a UK marketing magazine but based on a lot of American research. Here’s one on height.
Mute Swan at Clumber Park
I’ve just been looking at the heights of British Prime Ministers and have discovered why Britain is declining in importance in the world. It isn’t just that we were bankrupted by two World Wars, or that our industry is badly run, or that everyone hates us because of the Empire. Much simpler than that – our leaders are too short. Simple.
In the UK we have the additional factor that it’s easier to become PM if you went to Oxford University. In fact it’s almost obligatory. Of the 14 Prime Ministers in my lifetime there have been 11 who attended Oxford University, two who attended no University and one who went to Edinburgh.
Yep, short upper class tossers. That’s why we are in this state. I really should have gone into political analysis rather than poultry farming.
Whooper Swans on farmland near Frampton Marsh
Finally, I have to quote the MarketingWeek article because it fits my view of 21st Century Britain so well. No need to follow the link if you already clicked it, but it’s full of good stuff.
” We live in an era of unprecedentedly widespread affluence and choice. And many people enjoy the fruits of this abundance, despite their being at best half-educated and at worst near idiots. They bring both to the market and to the polling booth a self-centred, babyish superficiality and desire for instant gratification.”
Bewick’s Swan stamp
All three British swans for this one, though Bewick’s is only on a postage stamp and the Whoopers are not terribly clear..