Pretty German Politicians

German politicians have gotten better looking.

The new FDP chairman, Philipp Rösler, has a striking similarity with the CSU's fallen star Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg.  Both are smart, well-spoken politicians who have risen quickly and dramatically from regional offices to national prominence.  Not only are they charismatic, both rely on their faces to project their political messages.  Guttenberg has been compared to a more rugged Roger Moore, not a bad thing for a Defense Minister.  When people predict that he will eventually return to the national political stage, they base their argument on the fact that many voters enjoyed his performance-- even in his recent  resignation speech, he had a swagger in front of the camera that was held in check only by his need to appear chastened and oppressed by the scandal over his plagiarized dissertation.  

Rösler has just arrived at the top of the FDP, but his handsome face has been included in group pictures for the last year.  His visage attracts the camera not only because of his earnest, clean, boyish "soft Tom Cruise with glasses" appearance, but also because he was born in Vietnam, then raised in Germany.  He has the Obama-quality of an interesting family story, coupled with academic hard-work (his medical degree is unchallenged).  Television viewers are invited to ponder his face as he speaks flawless academic German.  "Look at this thoroughly German sounding Asian," says the camera.  Rösler enhances the boutique appeal of a small party like the Free Democrats.  His face provides a means for the FDP to distinguish itself as sophisticated, free-thinking, hard-working.  These messages and more will swirl around his photo.

A far cry from Helmut Kohl and Franz-Josef Strauss, these new faces suggest that German political parties have an entirely new media strategy.  The first rule of being a handsome politician is to pretend that good-looks are unimportant.  No need for the ironic self-effacement of Marcello Mastrioanni, no need to sound like a French actress trapped by her beauty, but certainly the new handsome Germans will insist that they are there to discuss policy, nothing else.  "Read my lips" may have taken on a less macho meaning, but sticking to a political message while looking coquettish is crucial in order to not generate the envy of male voters.  Charismatic politicians have to work both sides of the room, without irritating either sex.  They don't want to become the pretty boys whom all the men despise.  Kohl and Strauss certainly never had that problem.