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compromise support
'''Electability''' is the perceived potential of a political candidate to appeal to enough of the [[electorate]] to get elected.
'''Electability''' is the perceived potential of a political candidate to appeal to enough of the [[electorate]] to get elected.
Electability concerns often lead a party's core supporters into doubt over which candidate to back - the one that appeals to them the most, or the one that may be more electable. As a result, in extreme cases, they may end up backing a candidate whom they only dubiously support.
==United Kingdom==
==United Kingdom==
In the [[United Kingdom]], electability was a prime concern among the (opposition) [[Labour Party]] during the 1980s and early to mid-1990s. Party leaders including [[Michael Foot]] and to a lesser extent [[Neil Kinnock]] were very popular with the party's core support of [[trade union]]s and old-fashioned [[socialist]]s and [[social democrat]]s, but struggled to attract votes from outside these groups. They were often ridiculed by the [[media]] and perceived as unrealistic, questionably competent, and driven by [[ideology]] rather than tangible [[pragmatism]]. After five successive defeats in general elections, Labour turned to the more moderate and "electable" [[Tony Blair]], and were duly elected in a [[landslide]] victory in 1997. It then became the turn of successive [[Conservative Party]] leaders [[William Hague]], [[Iain Duncan Smith]] and [[Michael Howard]] to be perceived as "unelectable" to greater or lesser degrees.
In the [[United Kingdom]], electability was a prime concern among the (opposition) [[Labour Party]] during the 1980s and early to mid-1990s. Party leaders including [[Michael Foot]] and to a lesser extent [[Neil Kinnock]] were very popular with the party's core support of [[trade union]]s and old-fashioned [[socialist]]s and [[social democrat]]s, but struggled to attract votes from outside these groups. They were often ridiculed by the [[media]] and perceived as unrealistic, questionably competent, and driven by [[ideology]] rather than tangible [[pragmatism]]. After five successive defeats in general elections, Labour turned to the more moderate and "electable" [[Tony Blair]], against the wishes of many die-hard Labour Party members, and were duly elected in a [[landslide]] victory in 1997. It then became the turn of successive [[Conservative Party]] leaders [[William Hague]], [[Iain Duncan Smith]] and [[Michael Howard]] to be perceived as "unelectable" to greater or lesser degrees.
[[category:Politics]]
[[category:Politics]]