Alexander Pechtold, populisme & charismatisch leiderschap

The main research question of this master thesis is: How do supporters of D66, the PvdA and the PVV give meaning to the leadership of Alexander Pechtold and do they recognize characteristics of populism and charismatic leadership? Based on theory a list of features of populism and charismatic leadership is formulated. In the field of populism it was investigated whether Pechtold refers to an anti-elite sense, whether he propagates democratization, and – if true - how he refers to ‘the people’ in his media appearances. The characteristics of charismatic leadership that are discussed are having a strong vision and personality and creating a feeling of solidarity. Furthermore, it is investigated how Pechtold responds to his political enemy, Geert Wilders. These characteristics are examined through six different focus groups consisting voters of D66, PvdA and the PVV. The respondents were shown three fragments of Alexander Pechtold and asked to discuss about his appearance. The respondents found Pechtold merely an elitist rather than populist. Pechtold is seen as a good and experienced politician with humor. However, he lacks a certain relationship with the citizen because he comes across as an elitist. This creates a distance. Although D66 is still associated with reforms, the respondents think that Pechtold is not emphasizing this. He is merely an opposition leader than as someone who attacks the establishment, according to the respondents. As for dealing with his political enemy, the various voters disagree. PvdA voters are pleased that Pechtold responds strongly to Wilders. PVV'ers state that sometimes he should be more fierce. Some D66 voters find it annoying that he always focusses on the ideas of Geert Wilders, because it causes that less attention is devoted to the vision of D66. Other D66'ers are glad that Pechtold constantly opposes to Wilder’s statements, because it shows that D66’s ideas are opposite to the ones of PVV.