ABSTRACT
By the second half of the century the importance of the prime minister as party symbol was further enhanced by the rise of Gladstone and Disraeli, who were such magnetic personalities that elections became battles between the leaders of the Liberal and Conservative parties. Their alternating prime ministerships exemplified the role of personality in a prime minister's career. Disraeli, who was known for his spirited foreign policy and his glorification of empire, viewed politics as a struggle. On becoming prime minister, he announced "I have climbed to the top of the greasy pole." Gladstone had a moral conception of politics and felt that he was guided by a religious mission. His social legislation was more ideological and less paternal than Disraeli's. Although the Conservative governments of Lord Salisbury and Arthur Balfour (1848-1930) did not capture the popular imagination, they did leave their imprint on the prime ministership and revealed the role of personality in controlling the direction of government policy.
