The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 13 letter word STATESMANSHIP
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
S
T
A
T
E
S
M
A
N
S
H
I
P
More clues leading to the result STATESMANSHIP
- Politician’s quality says chap’s fashionable
- Skill in office? Affirms staff succeeded with it
- Nastiest MP has abandoned quality expected of senior politician
- American’s‘with it’ – not the sort of presidential quality Trump’s displaying?
- Nicholas Serota’s on board, displaying quality desirable in 13
- Political skill, an asset this MP badly needed
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "quality expected of senior politician" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case quality expected of senior politician = statesmanship.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does STATESMANSHIP mean?
STATESMANSHIP noun- The craft or skill of being a statesman, of leading a government well.