We-ing to the Top; politics is more than just policy

It is no secret that the employment of collective pronouns in discourse i.e "we", "our" "us" connotes a comparatively greater sense of inclusiveness and belonging between the speaker/writer and the listener/reader than its singular counterparts "me", "my" "I".
Recently, a Queensland university released the fascinating findings of an exhaustive study which analysed the extent to which these seemingly insignificant particles of language can potentially wield enormous influence in a political context.

The researchers of the university painstakingly analysed every drop of public political rhetoric produced by the various politicians who have run for Prime Ministership in our nation's 41 federal elections since 1901.
They found that 33 out of the 41 candidates who were successful in becoming Prime Minister of Australia employed on average a significantly greater amount of collective pronouns in their political speeches to the Australian people.

It is hardly coincidence that Australia's most successful politician to date, Robert Menzies, (who won 8 out of 9 federal elections) was the most eager frequenter of "we", "our" and "us"
Findings from the study contend that leaders who feel confident that they can speak on behalf of their party and also for general public will use collective pronouns whilst those who's political reputation hangs precariously in the balance (think of Kevin Rudd circa 2011 before he was replaced by Julia Gillard) will speak on their own behalf, using "me", "my" "I".

Interestingly, the use of singular, exclusive pronouns is not always aligned with a subconcious disregard for collective goals in favour of personal ones. A speech writer for Steve Bracks (former Premier for Victoria) claimed that his penchant for using predominately personal language in his public discourse was born from an intrinsic sense of personal responsibility tied to the problems Victoria was facing at that time. His language was not aimed at alienating the community, its desired affect was to reassure the people through inferring his active, personal involvement in the issues at hand.

In Summary; this study has shown that the Australian people are more likely to elect a politician who's rhetoric is laden with inclusive language as pronouns such as "we" "our" and "us" functions to

• Lessen social distance between an authoritative figure and the community 
• Insinuate a united front working towards collective objectives
• Cater to the positive face needs of individuals / our desire to feel appreciate, included and as though we belong
• Refutes a notion of social hierarchy - infers a degree of egalitarianism 
• Align a community / forge a collective identity / social group based on common values