It's election time. Hundreds, thousands of faces looking at us from the side of the road, in an effort to convince us of their being worthy of our vote. I wonder if it makes any difference. Most pictures are too (stereo)typicical to have a lot of effect. Fortunately, there are some exceptions to that rule. If the candidate's efforts to be original are always that well-chosen is of course a totally different matter. Some are hilarious, others are hmmm... interesting. Like this picture from Stern Demeulenaere, a candidate from a neighbouring town:
It is a striking photo, I admit. But there was something bothering me about it, although I could not immediately put my finger on it. But now I know: her efforts to have a certain diva-like quality have lead to her looking more like an actress you can see in certain x-rated movies than like a serious political candidate. And you know what: it's the shiny white combined with the tease of cleavage, the hint of lying down and especially the hazy "flou artistique" that do it if you ask me.
Mind you, I'm all for women in politics. And if they are good-looking to boot, that's even better. So if you have it, flaunt it. But please don't use a misplaced sex appeal to try and convince me. I wonder if Stern has taken a leaf from our current budget minister's 2000 campaign...
Serge,
For those of us who are just a little rusty on our recent Belgian political history, how about a little context on the budget minister...
Posted by: Philip Young | October 06, 2006 at 08:47 PM
Well, she could easily be an actress from Bold and Beautiful, The Neighbours or something like that. We have word for this look in Estonian- "meelas". In English it would be something like "voluptuous".
Posted by: Triin | October 08, 2006 at 09:22 PM
I don't think this lady is trying to use 'sex'. All I see is a woman trying to look beautiful on a photograph. If there's one thing you can blame her, it would be bad taste.
But hey, de gustibus et coloribus non est disputandum :-)
Posted by: Frederik | October 09, 2006 at 02:49 PM
@Philip: There is probably a lot to be said about 'Freya' as she is commonly known. 'Looks or brains' is probably the question that involves her the most. She is one of the youngest ministers ever in Belgium, and being female on top of that... Moreover she was an unwed mother (but got married recently) who has always had a way with words. She has, however, been involved in a number of political hiccups (a.o. insulting the Dutch prime minister) which have lead to even more speculations about her being capable of doing her job. Some say she only got that far in politics because her father used to be an important minister (esp. of education) as well. Of course, she looks good in the media and has been able to attract people's attention with some remarkable campaigns, so... I guess quick success at such a young age is bound to lead to criticism.
@ Triin: thanks for the language tip. Should I ever come to Estonia... ;-)
@ Frederik: do I sense a Freya fan somewhere deep down? :-)
Posted by: Serge | October 09, 2006 at 04:57 PM
Thanks, did Stern get in?
Posted by: Philip Young | October 09, 2006 at 07:11 PM
I wouldn't say that :-)
Nor am I a fan of VB's Anke Vandermeersch, who promised her voters to have her nude pictures taken if she was elected in '99 (back then, she was still a VLD-candidate)...
Compared to that, I think our budget minister is not so bad after all ;-)
Posted by: Frederik | October 10, 2006 at 11:41 AM
@Philip: she got elected, but her party did not make it into the majority, so she'll be in the opposition for the next six years.
@Frederik: Compared to Anke Vandermeersch, nothing is 'that bad after all' :-D .
Posted by: Serge | October 11, 2006 at 03:49 PM