Political Awareness is part of your Empathy - a component of your Social Competence.

While Empathy, in general, is related to your awareness, needs, and concerns of others,Political Awareness relates to your understanding of social and political events.

People who have this competence usually:

Accurately read key power relationships
Detect crucial social networks
Understand the forces that shape the views and actions of clients and competitors
Accurately read organizational and external realities

The skill at reading the currents that influence the real decision makers is of up-most importance for people who want to become star performers - identifying clearly who are the decision makers is a vital part of success same as being able to identify behind-the-scenes realities.

As a star performer, you must be able to balance conflicting points of interests, whether from within or from the world at large - have political sharpness to manage business and personal issues.