WP Wonkblog

What I find intriguing at the moment is that we’re most likely going to get a contest between a male and a female candidate, which we’ve never had.

The blustering that was going on between men is very accepted. It’s very common that men make rude jokes and slap each other on the back and they say mean things to each other. We all accept that. That’s part of the game.

But that doesn’t work the same with a woman — and with chimpanzees also. Males may have a fight with a female. That happens. But the blustering and the bluffing is not a big part of that because the [males] are bigger, anyway. It’s not an effect they’re seeking.

At the Arnhem (Netherlands) zoo, we had one called Mama, who just died at the age of 59 three weeks ago… She was the head female. She had a very big impact on male politics. She had this combination of physical strength — though never stronger than a male — and she was also the counselor-in-chief and friends with everyone. She was a very central figure. Males would not try to intimidate her. The whole group of females might go after them if they would try to do that.

That is an aspect that I find intriguing — the female solidarity. Females have a lot of competitions going [among one another]. But when it comes to male violence , they all draw the same line. They will all go after a male who is too intimidating or tries to force a female into sex.

That’s the thing that’s really going to interest me in the next phase of the election. You are going to have a female candidate with whom the tactics that may work with men are not going to work. If it gets too rough, there is going to be massive female solidarity. I think that’s already happening.