Cecilia Sarkozy, the wife of the French President, has been back in the news over her involvement in the release by Libya of the Bulgarian nurses it was holding. There have been calls for her to testify before a Parliamentary inquiry into the affair.
But the coverage has reminded me of her so-called gaffe at the June G8 summit where she missed the official dinner for spouses because she wanted to fly back early to prepare for her daughter’s birthday party.
There is something very wrong with the worlds of politics and media where putting your daughter’s birthday party ahead of a slap-up meal for yourself is reported as a gaffe or a snub.
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Interesting (and unfortunate) that when Mme Sarkozy put her children first it was seen as a snub – after Anna Lindh’s death, Jack Straw fondly recounted a time when she had put an IGC on hold because her son was locked out of their home hundreds of miles away in Sweden, and she didn’t return to the table until she’d tracked down a neighbour over the phone who had a key, or could go over and take him in.
I do hope this isn’t the start of a trend towards demanding ‘iron ladies’ with no feelings, compassion, or familial concerns.
Politics will get a lot more interesting (and conducive to a family life) when we get male politicians putting things on hold to sort out childcare and birthday parties!
That said, I think Cecilia Sarkozy’s determination to be her own woman and not just an adornment to her husband, as most political wives seem to be required to be, is an excellent thing.
While the media and political classes still require these intelligent women to just follow their husbands around they will find it harder to see women as anything but an accessory to a man’s political career.
Go, Cecilia!