Political Scandals and Their Impact
Political scandals are adverse events and activities that politicians may engage in, creating public outrage and concerns. Such misbehavior seems to cross ethical codes, moral expectations, and legal requirements as highlighted by Tumber and Waisbord, (2004 p. 1143).
Impact on Public Trust and Political Support
Political leaders are expected to uphold a high level of integrity such that when such integrity is put to the test, it should be proved genuine. However, when the integrity is put to the question, the public express their discontent. The political leaders have public resources in their control, and when they seem to misuse their discretionary power for personal gains, there is a possibility of impacting their reputation which could ruin their career, and in extreme cases result in imprisonment (Blowers 2017, p.1).
When government officials engage in scandals, this affects the people’s trust towards the government and also minimizes the citizens’ loyalty. Additionally, it results in reduced political support not only of the individual but also of the political party in question. Notably, the extent of the impact is dependent on the person involved and the kind of scandal whether it will have permanent or temporary impacts. Researchers have utilized various political theories to explain the long-term and short impact of scandals on politics. Since most of the impacts are negative, this paper will examine how scandals affect the citizens' trust on the government, erode the reputation of politicians, reduce political support, impact the people's perception of democracy, and affect the credibility of the political parties.
The Causes of Political Scandals
To properly understand the impact of political scandals, it is crucial to consider the major causes of political scandals within a country. Sex is a significant source of political scandals and may have lasting impacts on the career of politicians shifting one’s political life from success to defeat as suggested by Weston (p. 2224, 2015). The sexual behavior of politicians particularly men is supposed to be above reproach since when the politician's image is tainted, and the media gives the details regarding the individual, it is quite difficult to reverse the impacts. Even when some politicians have tried to suggest otherwise in the event of a sex scandal, the efforts have proved futile, and the eroded image remains for a long time. For example, Tim Murphy had an extra-marital affair that became public, and according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Murphy was filing a divorce with his wife to continue with Edwards. As a result, Murphy resigned his seat in the Congress (Rogers 2017, p. 5). Secondly, money has been a major cause of political scandals given that the politicians have access to resources that supersede the citizens and also are involved in making decisions where money is central. Money is pivotal in creating people's trust with the government since citizens view their wealth and income status as dependent on the usage of resources (Thobaben, Funderburk, and Schlagheck p. 1 2015) notes. Money is the primary basis of corruption in any government, and the ripple effects are dire, and that is why any engagement in serious corruption and misuse of political funds has considerable impacts on the politics of a nation (Musella, 2018 p. 125). Money in politics is seen as a powerful tool to influence people towards a given candidate above another but when it is taxpayers' money being misused, the people may feel manipulated, and their loyalty may dwindle.
Impact on Perception of Democracy
The individual citizens' perception of democracy is seen through the lens of the conduct of the political appointees. That means that people perceive a nation to be democratic depending on the behavior of those appointed to represent them. However, when those politicians pursue their personal interests such that such pursuits clash with the social norms, then the understanding of democracy is tainted. Ruderman and Nevitte (p. 886, 2015) underscore this statement by suggesting that individuals in Canada have a distorted notion of democracy which has stemmed from various political scandals. However, when the scandal in question is by a prominent individual like the president or the prime minister, this distortion is more significant compared to local authorities. When politicians get away with political scandals particularly in the court proceedings perhaps because of lack of sufficient evidence, the people put to question the existence of democracy in their countries. Therefore democratic satisfaction relies on the conduct of the leaders given that following a scandal people express various views on democracy that were absent before the scandal (Leiter and Clark 2015, p.544). In the long run, when people question their role in the political affairs of a nation, it would not be unanticipated for them to record a reduction in voting. Although the reputation of an individual following a scandal may only have short time impacts, the effect on democracy may take a long time having ripple effects even on other regimes. Kumlin (2014 p. 181) also notes that the absence of scandals is not all that a nation requires increasing democratic satisfaction but its ability to meet the needs of its citizens. Thus, a government behaving well but failing to address the needs of the people like unemployment is as bad a government that has records of scandals. Therefore, to enhance people's perception of democracy and increase its satisfaction, a government should be free of scandals and also meet the needs of the people that elected them.
Impact on Trust and Reputation
Political scandals affect the trust issues between the government and the people. Trust is central in governing a nation since without it, the legitimacy of the governing authority is put to the question, and the people's loyalty and commitment also affected negatively. Trust enhances the relationship between the masses and allows them to participate in civic activities and also helps the government address the needs of the people. Trust thus helps the political leaders to grant individuals their constitutional rights and foster the growth of the nation. Uslaner, (2017. p. 302) asserts that the people should trust the government to the extent that it maintains impartiality and promotes equality of all citizens including high-ranking officials. However, in the occurrence of political scandals involving reputable individuals in the government, the trust may be lost, and it gets difficult to have it back. For instance, the citizens will express outrage when the government announces an increase in taxes to be able to meet public needs while a government official was involved in a corruption scandal. The mistrust will be expressed in the fact that the masses will feel poor financial stewardship of the government is costly since the resources benefit a few who seem to operate above the law. Stoker et al., (2017 p.1) note that political trust is so essential that without it, it becomes difficult for the government to formulate and implement policies. When scandals occur, they discredit the leader and put to question their ability to carry out their roles effectively. While it appears fallacious to argue that a person's conduct affects their ability to perform, in the eyes of the public, the two remain interconnected and inseparable. In fact, the society views the individual leader as a representation of the office such that a government's worker's conduct will be considered to be similar to the government in authority (van der Meer and Hakhverdian 2017, p. 102).
The Impact on Political Parties
In the event of political scandals, politicians are seen individually but also as members of certain political parties, such that their conduct is generalized to depict the general inclinations of all other party members. According to the dysfunctional theory, scandals ruin the reputation of the political parties and also the system to a significant degree (Maier, 2011 p. 283). On the face value, such negative implications may appear minimal, but when the possibility of reelection is reliant on the political party affiliations, then it is such a big deal. For instance, a good politician belonging to a political party characterized by scandals may fail to get an opportunity to engage in political affairs because of the party. The argument according to the functional theory that political scandal may enhance the political system and party is shallow since the cost and the risk it too high (Medvedev 2017 p. 49). It is notable that the masses evaluate the scandals of politicians in a partisan manner as opposed to a gender stereotypic manner as asserted by Bhatti, Hansen, and Olsen (2013 p.1). Additionally, same party voters seem to consider the scandal of a politician more leniently compared to different party members. With reduced trust in a given political party, there comes less political association and may result in the decreased success of the party in consideration. It is noteworthy that politicians are not viewed in isolation, and the political support of a part relies on the conduct of the politicians involved.
Conclusion
In conclusion, scandals of high-ranking officials affect the political systems and political parties substantially. Politicians are viewed as part of a system with individuals as representations. When government officials engage in political scandals associated with sexual behavior or money, the public loses trust in the government's ability to perform their civic duties. Additionally, it ruins the political career of the individual and depending on the type of scandal; it may result in defeat in subsequent elections or even resignation due to public outrage. Finally, political scandals put democracy in question since people view democracy through the conduct and practice of the elected politicians. Thus, without moral integrity, it becomes challenging for the political institutions to formulate and implement policies.
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