Culture

The Spin | Australian President, Julia Gillard

— July 27, 2010—

David Hellqvist tries to make sense of the sartorial choices of World Leaders in his column The Spin

Julia Gillard as Rosie The Riveter, Campaign poster, July 8 2010 Photography by LyvvieIt’s an elite group, but to Argentina, Germany, Finland and the seven other countries that have female presidents or prime ministers, we can now add Australia. At the end of June, after predecessor Kevin Rudd stood down, 48-year-old Julia Gillard became the leader of the Labour party and took over the reins down under. But Gillard’s political honeymoon could be a short one: since she was elected to her...

Culture

The Spin | Raul Castro

— July 6, 2010—

David Hellqvist tries to make sense of the sartorial choices of World Leaders in his column The Spin

Raul Castro, left, with Ernesto “Che” Guevara, 1958 Museo Che Guevara (Centro de Estudios Che Guevara en La Habana, Cuba)It’s not unusual for politicians to keep it in the family: currently there are two Milibands running for Labour leader; the past two decades of American politics has been dominated by two families: Bush and Clinton; and in Argentina, president Cristina Fernandez is the wife of her predecessor. But nowhere is political nepotism so thriving as in Cuba.

When Fidel Castro a few yeas back began taking long...

Culture

The Spin | Nicolas Sarkozy

— June 22, 2010—

David Hellqvist tries to make sense of the sartorial choices of World Leaders in his column The Spin

Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni at Pittsburgh G20 Summit Courtesy of The White House, Photography by Pete Souza “A world where there is an election every six months – I feel for you: horrible, horrible, horrible!” So French president Nicolas Sarkozy is reported to have told Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld after awarding him the Legion of Honour. And he’s spot on – in fashion, you’re only as good as your last collection. The same applies to Sarkozy and his political colleagues &n...

Culture

The Spin | Vlad's Castle

— June 8, 2010—

David Hellqvist tries to make sense of the sartorial choices of World Leaders in his column The Spin

Vladimir Putin in combat Courtesy of The KremlinVladimir, oh Vladimir, where have you been for the last few years? What was that? You had to resign as president of Russia and become the country’s prime minister because your time at the top was up, but you will return to the top job as soon as you are constitutionally allowed? Oh OK, good – things haven’t been the same without you.

In 2008, after having been twice elected as president, Putin stood do...

Culture

The Spin | Yukio Hatoyama

— May 25, 2010—

David Hellqvist tries to make sense of the sartorial choices of World Leaders in his column The Spin

Yukio and Miyuki Hatoyama met Barack and Michelle Obama at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC on September 23, 2009 Official White House photo by Lawrence JacksonToday, the topic of discussion is Japan’s Prime Minister – known to many as old, you know, whatshisname. But while Yukio Hatoyama might not be the most prolific statesmen on the scene just yet, to his credit he’s only been in power since September last year. Hatoyama-san represents the Democratic Party of Japan, which is a great name since it kind of infers that the opposition is not democratic, b...

Culture

The Spin | Jacob Zuma

— May 11, 2010—

David Hellqvist tries to make sense of the sartorial choices of World Leaders in his column The Spin

Jacob Zuma Photography by Gregor Rohrig

South Africa has a long tradition of charismatic and colourful leaders. Everyone knows Nelson Mandela; and FW de Klerk has also gone straight into the history books. But both men can learn a thing or two from the current South African President Jacob Zuma when it comes to making the most of an entrance.

The 68-year-old Zuma took power exactly a year ago and visited the UK only a few weeks ago. Zuma, like Mandela, represe...