Cover -- The Leadership Capital Index: A New Perspective on Political Leadership -- Copyright -- Acknowledgments -- Contents -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- Notes on Contributors -- Chapter 1: Understanding Political Leadership: The Leadership Capital Approach -- Bringing Leadership Back Into the Study of Politics and Governance -- Conceptualizing Leadership Capital -- Developing the LCI -- Sources of Leadership Capital: Skills, Relations, and Reputation -- Methodology -- Assumptions and Conjectures -- Focusing and Developing the LCI -- The Leadership Capital Index: An Outline -- Towards Comparative Capital Assessment LCI GridOne Leader Across Time -- Different Holders of One Office Across Time -- Holders of the Same Office in Different Political Systems -- Outline of the Volume -- References -- Chapter 2: Turning Structural Weakness into Personal Strength: Angela Merkel and the Politics of Leadership Capital in Germany -- The ``Rock-Solid ́́Leader? -- Immunity to Decay -- Political Vision and Communicative Performance -- Personal and Party Polling -- Shaping Party and Parliamentary Policy -- Keeping the Powder Dry -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 3: ``No Loans for Ladies:́́ Julia Gillard and Capital Denied -- Skills RelationsReputation -- Rating Gillard: Contingencies, Timing, and Culture -- References -- Chapter 4: From Triumph to Tragedy: The Leadership Paradox of Lyndon Baines Johnson -- Presidential Succession: Getting the Cattle Out of the Swamp -- Using the Leadership Capital Index (LCI): Lyndon Johnson (1964-68) -- (T1) Projecting Prudent Leadership: Transition Success -- (T2) Historic Success: King of the Hill -- (T3) The Price of Guns and Butter: The Credibility Gap -- (T4) Waging the Wrong War at the Wrong Time: Collapse -- Conclusions: Leadership Capital and a Tragedy of Epic Intensity -- Note -- References Chapter 5: A ``Meteoric ́́Career in Hungarian PoliticsThe Rise and Fall of Ferenc Gyurcsány -- Methodology: The Milestone Approach -- Hungaryś Post-Communist Politics -- Milestones in Gyurcsányś Prime-Ministership -- Milestone 1: Election to the Premiership -- Milestone 2: 100 Steps Program -- Milestone 3: Re-election in 2006 and Policy Switch -- Milestone 4: The Leaking of the Oszöd Speech (September-October 2006) -- Milestone 5: The Lost Referendum -- Milestone 6: Political Fall and Afterlife -- Ferenc Gyurcsányś Leadership Capital Dynamics -- Skills -- Relations -- Reputation -- Conclusions -- References Chapter 6: Jerry Brown and the Triumph of Leadership: Leadership Capital and the Financial Rescue of CaliforniaCaliforniaś Dysfunctional Political System: Understanding Brownś Challenge -- Leadership Capital and Jerry Brown -- (S1) Leadership Vision and Communicative Performance -- (S2) Electoral Strength -- (R1) Public Trust and Party Strength -- (R2) Policy Influence and Legislative Effectiveness -- The Analysis: Taming the Ungovernable State -- Conclusions -- References -- Chapter 7: Limits to Dominance?: Comparing the Leadership Capital of Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair -- Mapping Leadership Capital.