Verified by 
As the UK begrudgingly gears up for a general election on May 6, One can't help but notice the striking contrast with the rapturous enthusiasm that swept Barack Obama to power in 2008. If opinion polls are anything to go by most of the UK population are exhibiting nothing short of learned helplessness. But surely this should be exciting. I mean, this is the first time anyone who was born after the release of Star Wars (my definition of "young") has encountered such a closely matched parliamentary race. So why can't anyone be bothered?
Some say it's down to post-recession apathy. But there's another possibility and this to do with a dearth of appealing leadership options. See, although UK elections are supposed to hang less on individual candidate leaders than in the US, in reality the whole thing is focused on those two individuals vying to be Prime Minister (although the parties sometimes - desperately - try to convince us otherwise). This means it's a choice between Gordon Brown (Labour), David Cameron (Conservative), and Nick Clegg (Liberal Democrat). Unfortunately it looks like, so far, neither has managed to get voters "all fired up".
In fact, a recent survey for the BBC Daily Politics Show reported that whatever parliaments were envisaged, most people were likely to be "unhappy" with the outcome. In other words, voters "won't be happy with any election result" and that "every conceivable outcome of the election will add to the nation's gloom"
It's depressing stuff. Is there anything our potential leaders can do to get our proverbial juices flowing? Well, psychologically speaking, a leader is the representative for everything the group stands for (in this case the group is the political party, and, if we elect them, all of us). If we're not enthused by them then its unlikely we'll buy the party line. Obama could justifiably lay claim to having what can be called a "transformational" leadership style when he was running for President. According to leadership research, transformational leaders are particularly appealing to us. They are able to motivate because they have three key characteristics - they have charisma, they can promote a sense of respect and empowerment, and they can encourage people to think in new ways about old problems. Obama arguably possessed all these qualities down to a tee. In fact, transformational leaders are particularly appealing during turbulent times, when the future is uncertain and what we want is an inspirational standard-bearer to fill us with the confidence to strive ahead into the unknown. The current economic climate certainly qualifies as turbulence, but at the moment its hard to claim that either Brown or Cameron have these transformational qualities.
There is perhaps some light at the end of the tunnel. This week, for the first time in British politics, we're having a US-style television debate between the main party leaders. It's their chance to shine and show themselves to be the transformational leaders we'd all love them to be. I'm willing them to wow me and woo me with their transformational style. I hope they do as we know an inspirational leader has the power to transform the group, its members, its prospects and potential. And I'd love to want to get out of bed on May 6.
