Muldoon’s Political Personality, the 1981 Springbok Tour and Erwin HargroveOLIVIA SEVERN

Presentation layout 1. Events of 1981

2. Context of tour 3. Sources 4. Hargrove’s analysis 5. Why study the tour?

What happened in 1981?

Also in 1981…

Thesis Politically motivatedSought re-election Gave decision to Rugby Union,

took anti-interventionist stanceDefended the rights of Kiwis

Gleneagles Agreement

Anti-tour

Pro-tour

Views of Muldoon Pro-tour “Ordinary Blokes” Cabinet members Rural areas - Protecting democratic rights in NZ

- Just want to watch the rugby

Anti-tour Colleagues Heads of governments Urban areas - Racist - Politically motivated - Power hungry

Sources - different views Information on the tour, the impact it had on NZ and the 1981 election. Primary and secondary sources consulted: documentaries, newspaper articles, protest pamphlets, books, journal articles

Biographies: Bob Jones, Hugh Templeton, Barry Gustafson, Gerald Hensley Protestors: Trevor Richards, Geoff Walker Autobiographies: Muldoon, Number 78Documentaries: 1981, The Tour: Ten Years On, 1981: A Country at War and

The Grim Face of Power Leadership analysis: Jon Johansson’s Two Titans: Muldoon, Lange and

Leadership and Erwin C. Hargrove’s The President as Leader: Appealing to the Better Angels of Our Nature

HargroveContemporary sources • James MacGregor • Burns• Richard Neustadt

Ancient sources • Niccolo Machiavelli• Aristotle

Hargrove and Muldoon?

- Written for presidents- Based on Roosevelt, Johnson and Regan’s presidencies - Identifies skills that differentiate successful

presidents from ineffective ones - Applicable to Muldoon’s leadership in 1981,

the skills he demonstrated helps explain his anti-interventionist stance – his concern for political power and democratic rights

Neustadt and Burns on Reputation Neustadt: the political actions a political leader makes in the present will affect the actions they make in the future Burns: “transactional” political leaders can learn from previous politicians and outperform them Muldoon: not following in Kirk’s footsteps

Outline of Leadership Skills Strategy and Skill 1. Bargaining 2. Rhetoric 3. Heresthetics - Character

Cultural Leadership

- Discernment

Teaching Reality

- Machiavelli v Aristotelian route

1. Strategy and Skill 1. Bargaining Purpose: bargain to win the support of the people. Combines with rhetoric. 2. Rhetoric Purpose: convince people to support you via verbal and written persuasion Example: appeal to Rugby Union, defence of democratic rights

1. Strategy and Skill cont. 3. Heresthetics Purpose: out-maneuver your rivals Example: Muldoon attacking anti-tour protestors verbally

“Technical fascists” “Extreme-left”

A “disruptive, anti-establishment, anti-government movement”

2. Cultural leadership Discernment: the ability to judge well

Discernment does not require the politician to read the future, which no one can do, but only to have a good sense of the possibilities in a given situation. (Hargrove, 41)

Seats Won

National Labour Social Credit

Counter-argument Bob Jones: Muldoon was not politically motivated. He did not predict that he would win the 1981 election with the support of the better half of New Zealand

47

43 2

3. Teaching Reality – describing one’s environment to his people

Aristotelian method Telling people an impartial, honest perspective of reality Pros: easier to tell truth than lie Cons: less popular method, less likely to win the support of the people

Machiavellian method “Demagoguery:” telling a version of reality that is tailored to the opinions of the large sector of society

Pro: more chance of success, people don’t want to hear the truth

Cons: may be seen as manipulator

What route did Muldoon take?

Muldoon’s Teaching of Reality DistractionDesensitised view of a costly tour and risk to protestors

"feeling about the whole thing is a relaxed one. No one, as far as I'm aware was killed nor seriously injured. Some property damage was done, there was some cost in police time.” - Muldoon

"Those who do not learn history are

doomed to repeat it."

- George Santayana