The End of Cleggie?

[Sam Slater]

Irish President, Higgins is as bald as a coot.
Swedish PM, Reinfeldt, is as bald as a badger.
No one would describe Hollande's hair as 'decent', nor Key's of New Zealand - and Abbot's hair of Oz is hardly a barnet you'd be proud of.

Just coincidence I think.

I'd like to see how many western leaders have had beards over the last 50 or 60 years though.

[David Johnson]

I suspect that Cockney is correct. His point was about British PMs i.e. "Baldies don't win elections in Britain."

The examples you give, Sam are not British PMs.

The reason why this is important is that increasingly, British politics is becoming more and more of a "presidential" fashion show where image is all. Cameron, an ex-PR man personifies this approach.

I suspect that it is no coincidence that Prime Ministers seem to be getting younger and younger. You have to go back to the 18th century to find British Prime Ministers who were younger than Blair and Cameron when they came into office.

Today even technique in eating a bacon sandwich is deemed to somehow signify how appropriate or otherwise, a politician might be as prime minister.

To be naturally bald is to be viewed as old, turgid in thought and mind. Not dynamic like younger more aesthetically looking politicians.

Very sad, but I suspect true.

[Arginald Valleywater]

Will the last Lib Dem please turn off the lights when they leave Westminster? Waited for decades, had their chance at glory and bottled it.
Every time I meet someone who tells me they vote Lib Dem I ask them what it is the party stands for..be it crime, the economy, defence or the NHS. Still waiting for a solid answer.

[David Johnson]

Bit like UKIP then

[Sam Slater]

[quote]Waited for decades, had their chance at glory and bottled it.[/quote]

How did they 'bottle it'? That implies giving in or avoiding responsibility in some way. You could say they 'let some of their voters down', or, 'they fucked up' even, but 'bottling it' doesn't make much sense.

[quote]Every time I meet someone who tells me they vote Lib Dem I ask them what it is the party stands for[/quote]

I doubt you know that many Lib Dem voters, Arg. But you need not bother them with your questions.....they have a manifesto - and it's on the net too!

[cockneygeezer2009]

"To be naturally bald is to be viewed as old, turgid in thought and mind. Not dynamic like younger more aesthetically looking politicians.

Very sad, but I suspect true."

Image is very important nowadays when it comes to party leaders. The media have a field day if a leader doesn't fit what they think you should be. Ed is being slaughtered for having no charisma. It is highly unlikely the LD's will replace Clegg with Cable before the next election.

[Sam Slater]

Like I said, other European and Anglo nations like Australia & NZ have had/have elected leaders without much hair.

They live in the same 24 hour news, glossy magazine, socially networked, selfie-ridden, internet age as we do, with very similar cultures to our own.

It's either coincidence, or the people of the countries I mentioned aren't as image-obsessed as we are........which you'd have to explain.