You are reading a single comment by @aggi and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
-
I see where you're coming from but I think it is the expectation around the world and would probably be viewed as a snub to some countries/leaders if it didn't happen.
It's obviously a spouse thing rather than a wife thing, there was the same with Dennis Thatcher and Philip May, but for blokes you can just have a few suits and no-one will notice.
aggi
Genuine question, I promise, but why is she expected to meet world leaders and attend state banquets?
That all seems really old school to me. Might she not be happier just doing her own thing in the clothes she already owned rather than being forced to go along to events because of her job?
I fairly regularly have work events and business travel that I'm expected to do. My wife is invited to relatively few of these things. If she was invited and felt she really wanted to buy new clothes for the event, she'd buy something out of our own money. I'd never even think about asking to expense that, which feels to me like the equivalent.
I accept that it's quite different because I'm clearly not PM or in any way important. My point is why should his wife have all these obligations placed on her? I think that's where we should be pushing as a root cause, rather than worrying about what she should wear and who should pay.