“We’re all mad here”: Does Politics turn you crazy, or the other way around? Maddi Broad is an advocate for black jellybeans. It is no secret that in all levels of politics there appears to be a certain personality type that draws the limelight. You often hear people remark that “you’d have to be crazy” to pursue a career as a politician. In fact, when I tell people that my major is in Politics, they often ask if that means I plan on becoming a politician, with a slightly sceptical look on their face. When you think about extreme personalities in the political arena, it’s hard to ignore former US President Donald Trump. Certainly, every aspect of his political career made it apparent he was (at least a little bit) 14
mad. The increasing prevalence of populist leaders worldwide means we constantly see these larger-than-life personalities on the global stage; you only need to google ‘Boris Johnson funny moments’ to be reminded of this (if you ever have a major exam to study for, I’d recommend this). Domestically, we’ve had our fair share of memorable personality types within Federal politics. Pauline Hanson’s attention-seeking stunts come to mind here, and it’s hard to forget the sight of Tony Abbott biting into a raw onion – or worse still, his multiple appearances wearing only budgie smugglers.
Help! I ouija-board-summoned Lewis Carroll...
