The importance of image in politics: Surrounding yourself with your family can pay off for a party leader

Shining in the spotlight of the cameras surrounded by his family can be an asset for a party leader during an election campaign, especially when the projected image serves the political project. But this card is a double-edged sword for women, according to an expert.

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Reconciliation between work and politics is difficult, even more so during the electoral marathon, when the leaders of political parties criss-cross Quebec by bus from dawn to dusk. But the image conveyed by a leader surrounded by his relatives is no less important in the eyes of certain voters, who are better able to identify with the politician, notes Thierry Giasson, professor and director of the Political Science Department of the Laval University.

As young fathers, the leaders of Québec solidaire and the Parti Québécois sometimes appeared in public with their families. Suddenly, the chosen one seems more human, closer to the daily reality of ordinary mortals.

It sends a visual clue that this person is like them, (…) has a normal life, a life that resembles theirs, illustrates the academic. It becomes a factor of identification which could, in certain cases, anchor the decision of certain people”.

And when the leader’s image serves the values ​​and issues raised by the party, it’s a double hit. This is what is happening in particular with Québec solidaire and its co-spokesperson, underlines Mr. Giasson.

Of course, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois did not have a child to serve his political career or advance the destiny of solidarity. “But when things happen in the candidate’s life and they can help personalize the issues the party wants to talk about, well, we’re going to do that exercise,” he says. In the case of QS, which is full of support in CEGEPs and universities, young families are obviously a new clientele to target.

“At QS, there was a deliberate strategy of highlighting GND’s father identity because it felt like people had a not particularly positive image of him, they saw him as someone a little pretentious, which was sometimes haughty or brittle, which was perhaps a little too pugnacious and we wanted to round off certain roughnesses”, advances the professor.

The expert also highlights an intervention by the PQ leader PSPP this week, who publicly reported a conversation with his spouse to illustrate the rise in the cost of living and support a commitment by his political party to fight against inflation. His wife refused to buy his favorite vanilla Greek yogurt because of its exorbitant price.

Straightman by Legault

If she was very discreet during the four years in power of the CAQ, the spouse of François Legault is omnipresent in the electoral campaign. According to Thierry Giasson, Isabelle Brais plays a bit the role of the “straight man” of the chief caquiste.

The outgoing prime minister is known for sometimes making blunders or language errors when he speaks. The head of the CAQ also plays a lot on this image of “guys like the others”.

“In the comic duo, there is always the straight man who corrects the other a little or who prepares a joke, which makes it possible to highlight the other person. And I think that Mrs. Brais, she serves a little for that in this duo. It helps to reduce the pressure when Mr. Legault makes mistakes, she can laugh a little.

Stereotypes

The only woman in the gang, the liberal Dominique Anglade has appeared little with her family since the start of the campaign. It’s not so much by choice for the mother of three, since her offspring are school-aged and can’t skip school.

Nevertheless, the perception that people have of female politicians is marked by many gender stereotypes, argues the academic. When we see GND with his baby, PSPP with his little ones or Justin Trudeau with his loved ones, we approve.

“We (them) find fantastic, we find it brilliant, (they are men) of their time, they take care of (their) family. But a woman politician who would do the same thing can raise doubts. The first doubt, there are studies that show it, is that people wonder if she is a good mother, if she is there enough for her family, ”says the professor.

A guest on the caravan

A newcomer to the political scene, the leader of the Conservative Party never appears in public with his spouse. “It’s a strategic decision that belongs to Éric Duhaime and his strategists. Maybe that person is not comfortable, maybe there are professional issues too.

But the conservative caravan sometimes welcomes a special guest. Mia, the Conservative leader’s dog, is a cross between a Labrador and a pit bull. Éric Duhaime adopted her during the debate on dangerous dogs. But again, the image of the politician supports the values ​​defended by the party, according to Mr. Giasson. “There is a very clear message. He does not walk with a golden retriever, he walks with a dog that allows him to talk about his policy of individual freedom.

A family affair also for the first lady

For the wife of the outgoing Prime Minister, Isabelle Brais, campaigning alongside her husband testifies to the “family spirit” that exists within their political formation.

“I often say that it’s not a party we have, it’s a big family. Everyone respects each other, listens to each other, sticks together … We are tightly knit, ”she confided, in a rare interview with The newspaper.

If she makes it a point to be present alongside the CAQ leader almost every day since the start of the election campaign, it is also for the sake of offering him some “moral support”.

“Often, I have to calm him down, because he gets angry… Sometimes!” Not all the time… Most of the time, he is quite calm, but it’s just to make him breathe, so that he doesn’t become attached to small details, ”recounted Ms. Brais, laughing.

“Thirty-six days of campaigning can be long and hard on morale at times. Isabelle knows how to advise me and comfort me, ”commented the chief caquiste François Legault, stressing that his spouse “is at the heart” of his team.

— Marc-André Gagnon, Parliamentary Office

Dominique Anglade’s biggest challenge

Being a mother of three at school and a party leader is Dominique Anglade’s greatest challenge.

“It’s not a balance that is easy on a daily basis, particularly during an election campaign,” says the leader of the Liberal Party.

The other chiefs have been walking with their wives and children since the start of the campaign. Impossible for her, due to the start of classes.

Her children and husband only accompanied her on the party bus on the first day. “I was particularly happy,” she said.

A choice that “is not easy”, she says. “I have children who are in school, so they cannot come during the week […] This is a message that I also wanted to send, is that school is important. »

His two daughters will also celebrate their birthdays in September, at the heart of the electoral campaign. “We are going to organize times so that I can go see them at home and so that they can come on the bus”, underlines the chef. “Yes, they’re going to come on the bus too and we’re going to find that balance, which isn’t easy, but which is doable. »

— Nicolas Lachance, Parliamentary Office

Politics is also emotion

In addition to spending quality time with little Hélène, who is barely six months old, campaigning with the family allows Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois to show a more sensitive side of his personality, a facet that he assumes better than before, he says.

Coming from union and university backgrounds, he says he understood the importance of human contact by working alongside Manon Massé, after having long believed that ideas alone were enough to convince voters. “I have reconciled myself to the fact that emotion is part of politics, and it’s not bad, you shouldn’t look down on it,” he said.

He explains that he wants to connect with voters in this way. “I had prejudices, I think, about assuming that my family life, my personal life, my sensitivity, that’s part of me, and that if Quebeckers want to get to know me, they have to I agree to show that too,” he says.

— Patrick Bellerose, Parliamentary Office

Children’s welfare first

The children of Paul St-Pierre Plamondon will not campaign with their father, but the latter does not hide them either. This week, her 4-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son joined the campaign team at the restaurant. Not seeing them on a daily basis is difficult, admits the chef, with wet eyes, who admits to being emotional on this issue. But the decision to keep them away was made after consulting child psychologists. “I’ve been told it’s better to have short moments with them where I’m fully tuned in than to expose them to their daddy more often, but who isn’t able to give them the attention what they need,” he told us. He will allow himself two windows of time per week for his children during the campaign. « The stories of images […] yes it makes for good pictures… But the reality is that 2 and 4 year olds cannot live 18 hours a day on a bus. The chief’s wife, however, is very involved and coordinates the volunteers of the electoral office in her county.

— Annabelle Blais, The Journal of Montreal

With his dog on the road

The Conservative leader does not plan to appear in public with family members during the election campaign. However, it happens that his parents, Henri and Ginette, come to visit him in private. Occasionally, his dog Mia comes to spend a day in the trailer, but he stays on the bus during announcements and other campaign activities for Éric Duhaime. It is also the bus driver who has the task of walking the dog in the absence of his master.

— Gabriel Côté, QMI Agency