Tilburg University The credibility challenge of political leaders van Zuydam, Sabine Publication date: 2018 Document Version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Link to publication in Tilburg University Research Portal Citation for published version (APA): van Zuydam, S. (2018). The credibility challenge of political leaders: Enacting competence, trustworthiness, and caring. General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 25. sep. 2021 THE CREDIBILITY CHALLENGE OF POLITICAL LEADERS ENACTING COMPETENCE, TRUSTWORTHINESS, AND CARING Sabine van Zuydam THE CREDIBILITY CHALLENGE OF POLITICAL LEADERS ENACTING COMPETENCE, TRUSTWORTHINESS, AND CARING Sabine van Zuydam Cover design and layout: Sofie Bernhagen Cover photo: Maranatha Pizarras (Unsplash) Printing: Ridderprint, Ridderkerk, the Netherlands ISBN 978-94-6375-110-0 © Sabine van Zuydam, 2018 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission in writing from the proprietor(s). THE CREDIBILITY CHALLENGE OF POLITICAL LEADERS ENACTING COMPETENCE, TRUSTWORTHINESS, AND CARING Proefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan Tilburg University op gezag van de rector magnificus, prof. dr. E.H.L. Aarts, in het openbaar te verdedigen ten overstaan van een door het college voor promoties aangewezen commissie in de aula van de Universiteit op maandag 15 oktober 2018 om 14.00 uur door Sabine van Zuydam geboren op 6 mei 1989 te Eindhoven. Promotor: prof. dr. F. Hendriks Copromotor: dr. T.A.P. Metze-Burghouts Overige leden van de Promotiecommissie: prof. dr. G.J.M. van den Brink prof. dr. J.A. de Bruijn prof. dr. N.M. van Gestel prof. dr. C. de Landtsheer PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS What could have happened within the course of only a few months that a highly praised and enthusiastically welcomed political leader became someone whose leadership qualities were a source of concern? Six years ago I became fascinated with the fate of this one political leader. What started with wonder and amazement, has now (finally) developed into a full dissertation on credible political leadership. The process of writing a PhD thesis was somewhat like doing an obstacle run. It was challenging and frustrating, but at same time it has been a very rewarding process. I am grateful that I was given the opportunity by the Tilburg Law School to design my own research project and explore the issue of credible political leadership to the fullest. It has taught me lot, not just about the central theme of my dissertation. Over the years, I have developed from a somewhat shy and insecure student into an independent and confident researcher. Although there is just one name on the cover of this book, I could not have completed this PhD project without the support of colleagues, friends, and family, nor without the help of people who contributed to this dissertation in a more practical way. My supervisors, Frank Hendriks and Tamara Metze, deserve an especially great thank-you. Frank, thank you for all your comments and suggestions to improve my research. What I appreciated most was that you never told me what to do, but that by asking me all the right questions you let me discover on my own that I should perhaps take a different path. Moreover, I’ll always remember your writing lessons. ‘Show, don’t just tell’, is still something I hear in my mind every time I try to write a research article. Tamara, thank you for all our stimulating discussions in the process of developing the idea of ‘enacted credibility’, and for guiding me through the first steps of what life in academia is all about. You’ve opened many doors for me, from which I still benefit today. In addition, I would like to thank my colleagues at the Tilburg Institute of Governance (or the Tilburg School of Politics and Public Administration as it was called for the majority of the time I was working on my dissertation) for their support. Wiljan Hendrikx, Andrea Frankowski, and Koen van der Krieken, I really enjoyed our many coffee breaks, discussions of our PhD projects, and sharing our experiences of life as a PhD researcher. It was a great pleasure working with you! Merlijn van Hulst provided me with valuable feedback on draft chapters and suggestions for literature to include in my research. Niels Karsten, I’m very grateful for your comments on my work as well, and your ability to spot even the tiniest errors and inconsistencies. Also thank you for helping me with the more practical aspects of finishing a PhD project. It was great to have someone in the department to whom I could ask – without shame –all questions that came to mind, ranging from where to find a good editor to how many theses I should print. I look forward to continuing working with you and all other colleagues at TIG on many projects relating to political leadership, credibility, and local democracy. Apart from colleagues at TIG, I also owe a big thank-you to the many people working at other universities for commenting on my work and for discussing political leadership with me. Sascha Kraus-Hoogeveen and Bob van de Velde, our discussions always added a new and fresh perspective. During various stages of the project, many other scholars from various universities have also provided valuable feedback on the individual chapters in this dissertation. Minou de Ruiter, Marij Swinkels, Femke van Esch, and Sandra Resodihardjo, we’ve met at conferences all around the world and even though the intensity of our contact waxed and waned over the years, I really appreciated our discussions on political leadership and life in academia in general. Moreover, my special thanks go out to all those others who have helped me at one point or another during the last six years, but who I so far have not mentioned. As a PhD researcher, it is sometimes easy to forget there is more in life than just working on your research. This is why I am very grateful for all friends and family who made sure that I stayed connected with ‘the real world’. Talking about everything but politics enabled me to take some distance from the peculiarities of academia and to put everything into perspective. Michel, you definitely deserve the ‘Best Husband Award’. For being so patient with me whenever I had to work late. For cheering me up whenever I was annoyed that I didn’t make enough progress. For taking care of me, supporting me, and making sure that I did not lose myself in work. You make life fun, interesting, and exciting. Thank you! Sabine van Zuydam Den Bosch, August 2018 CONTENTS Chapter 1: Introducing credibility and political leadership 13 PART I - ESTABLISHING SOURCE CREDIBILITY & EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF SUPPORT FOR POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS AND PARTY PREFERENCE Chapter 2: Observing the source credibility of political leaders during the 45 2010 parliamentary election campaign & Cabinet Rutte II Chapter 3: Credible cabinet ministers and parliamentary party leaders: 61 The explanatory value of party preference and support for political institutions in the Netherlands PART II - PRESENTING THE LEADERSHIP CASES, TWO EPISODES IN DUTCH POLITICS & THE NATURE OF POLITICAL LEADERSHIP IN THE NETHERLANDS Chapter 4: Elaborating on the leadership cases: Cohen, Rutte, 87 Timmermans, Samsom, and Roemer Chapter 5: Two episodes in Dutch politics: Exploring the 2010 111 Parliamentary Elections & Cabinet Rutte II Chapter 6: The context of political leadership in the Netherlands 135 PART III - STUDYING LEADERS’ PERFORMANCE & ITS FRAMING BY CITIZENS AND OTHERS IN THE PUBLIC DEBATE IN THE MEDIA Chapter 7: Credibility enacted: Understanding the meaning of credible political 159 leadership in the Dutch parliamentary election campaign of 2010 Chapter 8: Making political leaders king: Enacted credibility in times of elections 179 Chapter 9: Owning the stage: Understanding the enacted credibility of cabinet 201 ministers and parliamentary party leaders Chapter 10: Great expectations: The credibility of cabinet ministers and 225 parliamentary party leaders Chapter 11: Conclusions & discussion 245 SUMMARY 268 SAMENVATTING 280 REFERENCES 292 APPENDICES Appendix 1: Questionnaire items 326 Appendix 2: Referenced data sources 329 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCING CREDIBILITY AND POLITICAL LEADERSHIP “The Liberal Democrats have denounced the decision to appoint Boris Johnson as foreign secretary - saying Theresa May has ‘lost credibility after 90 minutes as Prime Minister’” (The Independent, 13-07-2016). “Credibility turns out to be the Achilles heel of debate king Rutte. (…) Rutte is a man ‘who says A but does B. He is two-faced’, analyzed Christian democrat leader Sybrand Buma” (Financieele Dagblad, 22-09-2016). “Halbe Zijlstra