MIA magazine published a report which included an interview with Yolanda Román, director of Public Affairs at ATREVIA.
A report from Vicente Bustillo, titled “The president’s husband”, asks people what they know about who is behind great women like Angela Merkel and Dilma Rousseff. In Spain, there are four regional female presidents, Cristina Cifuentes, Susana Díaz, Francina Armengol and Uxue Barkos, and almost no one would be able to put a face to their husbands.
We include Yolanda Román’s opinion here.
Towards a greater role
Although some of the functions of spouses are still to be defined, experts agree that it will increase with age and evolve with a unisex model. “It is an obvious reality that is something very new in Spain”, stated Yolanda Román, director of Public Affairs at the communications consultant ATREVIA. “We could venture to say that the candidate environment will become more important”. It is yet to see what this role will be and at the moment no one dares to draw it.
“The participation of the partner and the family of the candidate is a strategy which is more than just campaign as it helps to build the image of a politician. It is clear that it does not form part of our Spanish electoral culture but I think that this will change. The environment of the candidate will become more important, since the person now takes more weight than the party stands for. The participation from the spouse gives an image of being closer to the citizen. It is something that generates empathy. The candidate is not only a politician: they are also a person with a family and have their own concerns. The politician shows is their model of society through the environment. In this sense, I believe that eventually the spouse figure will be used politically. Why do I think that this is not used normally? I believe that this companion position has been exercised so far almost exclusively by women. When a man has to occupy it, it feels out of place. I believe that little by little men will be assuming this role naturally. On the other hand, they are going to break the stereotype that accompanies the wife, being a “wallflower”. The trend is that candidates have by their side a person with a professional career and not simply a “wallflower” rather than it being a negative image (except in conservative sectors)”.
The complete report, published in the news section in the MIA magazine and in which Diego Crescente, member of the MAS Consulting Group participated with Marina Fernández, director of international relations in the International School of Protocol, can be downloaded here.
