And in the digital era, the role of a politician’s spouse has moved from occasional waving on election night to the permanent circulation of images and footage online. A certain image of a politician’s private, domestic life, a spouse and their children, has increasingly become a tool for political gain. Showcasing, or at least referencing, family members in public fora by means of interviews, press statements, and photographs has provided politicians with the ideal vehicle through which to perform their everyday humanity, and thereby their identification with the wider public. Part of this strategy involves playing to role of regular, ordinary everyday citizens, people “like you and me”, with ordinary partners and families. ![]() Politicians themselves perform versions of personal identity to their publics in ways that are usually geared toward appealing to their electoral bases, while spinning that appearance to suggest that their private interests are aligned with those of their constituents. The public/private distinction has always been tenuous -particularly when it comes to scandals involving politicians. These are private citizens, and should be treated as such. Family members - and specifically, partners and children - are not tasked with making a nation’s important decisions. Let’s start with the principle that “families of politicians should be off-limits to criticism until such time as they do something political.” This has been an unspoken rule among journalists in a number of jurisdictions, including Australia, and, on the face of it, it seems perfectly reasonable. ![]() ![]() Subscribe Public politicians and private families
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