We look at 3 different measures of political success—electoral success, years in office, & access to an elite political position—& find lower levels of agreeableness are systematically correlated with greater success

Nice guys finish last: personality and political success. Jeroen Joly, Stuart Soroka, Peter Loewen. Acta Politica, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41269-018-0095-z

Abstract: Is there a link between personality and the electoral and in-office success of politicians? Using the Ten-Item Personality Inventory, we examine whether the Five-Factor Model personality traits are correlated with political success among Belgian elected officials. We look at three different measures of political success, corresponding to different stages of the political career—electoral success, years in office, and access to an elite political position—and find lower levels of agreeableness are systematically correlated with greater success. These results are in line with those found among American and European CEO’s (Boudreau et al. in J Vocat Behav 58(1):53–81, 2001). This study offers a unique insight in the type of personality voters and party leadership look for and reward among politicians.