A matter of personality? Stability and change in EU leaders’ beliefs during the Euro crisis

Abstract

This chapter focuses specifically on the effects of personality traits on leaders’ crisis belief change and studies whether these personality traits provide a better explanation for belief change than the pressure the leaders experienced. In addition to leaders’ propensity for and level of belief change, in the context of the Euro crisis, the direction of leaders’ belief change in comparison with their peers was important. The technique of comparative cognitive mapping was used to establish the form, level, and direction of belief change the leaders experienced during the Euro crisis. To determine leaders’ cognitive complexity and openness to information, a Leadership Trait Analysis (LTA) was conducted. The focus of the analysis of maps is on leaders’ economic beliefs and, in particular, on where they stand on the Keynesian-Ordoliberal divide. Overall, Euro crisis caused a reduction of Ordoliberal nature of Merkel’s secondary and fundamental beliefs within the paradigm boundaries of Ordoliberalism, but Merkel’s belief system remained predominantly Ordoliberal at all levels.