Change of leadership is significantly affected by various politicians’ perceptions of reality, which are transmitted to the citizens willing to participate in the process. Their views play an important role in the prospective shifts implemented in any sphere of life. The resources used for making a change in the populations’ opinions regarding critical societal issues reflect the essential convictions of policymakers (Swinkels, 2020). The mechanism of the promotion of innovative approaches to their resolution alongside their justification derives from authorities’ stances, which can be clearly seen when analyzing crises (Swinkels, 2020). Therefore, the choices of leaders within the political systems, such as democracy and conservatism, are influenced by their beliefs and should be examined accordingly.
The democratic approach is characterized by a number of convictions expressed by the people supporting it. It can be explicitly demonstrated through the evaluation of political leaders’ actions at the time of the Eurozone crisis. They transmitted their belief in the need for cooperation in order to overcome the emerging challenges instead of exercising the previously common fragmented efforts (Swinkels, 2020). In this way, the attitudes of citizens were shaped under the influence of the developed policy, which was different from other initiatives. Moreover, the diversity of political and economic contexts of the participating countries contributed to the need to combine their efforts since they were interested in the outcome (Swinkels, 2020). The lack of unity could have resulted in the failure to address the consequences of the crisis. Hence, the conviction of political leaders in the necessity of this measure added to the change in the perception of the promoted methods, which could be unwelcome in other circumstances. Considering the importance of these two factors, the beliefs regarding the feasibility of cooperation in the context of diversity, the shift in perceptions was logical.
In contrast to the political system described above, a conservative approach to policy-making was accompanied by the desire of its principal actors to distinguish the efforts of each country. It was conditional upon the drawbacks of uniting them for pursuing similar goals. They included the perception of integration as a condition, which can lead to the increase in unemployment, unsustainable public debt, and the incompatibility of ideologies preventing the effectiveness of the mentioned measures (Swinkels, 2020). The focus on the negative side of the policy widely supported by democratic leaders resulted in the resistance to change. In this case, the beliefs of politicians regarding the dominant impact of the specified factors on the results of their activity led to the formation of their particular stance (Swinkels, 2020). Therefore, the views of policymakers on the problems and their significance for the crisis resolution served as the determining circumstances in the absence of actions in this direction as opposed to the democratic notions.
In conclusion, the importance of political beliefs in changing leadership is explained by their use for managing and proposing the course of action in the case of emergencies. They are intertwined with the environment and, therefore, can be viewed as essential elements of policy-making. The experience of European countries in the crisis confirms the need to pay attention to political leaders’ personal beliefs in designing the plans for overcoming such challenges. In this situation, the democratic views implying the necessity of combined efforts were contrasted by the conservative stance, which was focused on the drawbacks of this decision. Thus, the perception of change is affected by similar events, and people tend to act upon their personal beliefs.
Reference
Swinkels, M. (2020). Beliefs of political leaders: Conditions for change in the Eurozone crisis. West European Politics, 43(5), 1163-1186. Web.