Sir Merrick Cockell, head of Kensington and Chelsea council and of the Local Government Association, thinks the presence of a charismatic city mayor helps, too.

ECONOMIST: Radical local government: Political Petri dishes | The

Yet in China, in some small village or large city, there is a charismatic individual waiting.

FORBES: China's Anti-Reformers Take Over

The key lies in a network of grassroots supporters spearheaded by the charismatic Emerald City Supporters and their accomplished marching band.

BBC: Football fever hits the Pacific Northwest

And so Enrique Pena Nieto, a charismatic attorney and former governor of Mexico state, the most populous state in the country and adjacent to Mexico City, won the election this year.

CNN: Mexico's new leader measured against old corruption