Can a powerful lady in a fitted pantsuit fuel riots? Apparently, she can, at least according to some financial media outlets.
Business Insider has a post this morning titled “How Angela Merkel’s Pantsuit Alienates Her From The EU,” which uses a Wall Street Journal article from May to argue that Merkel’s pantsuits may have “fueled the firestorm” of Greek protesters. The riots aren't the result of high unemployment or the generally terrible state of Greece’s economy -- only getting worse thanks to her more-than-gentle urging that Greece undertake painful cuts. No, it’s that damn combination of a sleek trouser and a 3-button blazer that has the Greeks all in a huff.
The May WSJ article on which the BI post is based, focuses on Merkel’s style evolution, and quotes an expert on the fashion of female power brokers as saying that Merkel's pantsuit wardrobe may send the message that she’s a “a no-nonsense, rational woman.”
God forbid.
The WSJ story speculates that Merkel's unchanging wardrobe could be symbolic of her unchanging stance on fiscal policy.
Not to be left out, Bloomberg is also jumping in on the “OMG Angela Merkel has a lot of pantsuits and wears them all the time” bandwagon. The television station has a video out today, aptly titled “The 50 Shades of Angela Merkel’s Pantsuits,” where “Stephanie Rule reports on the colors of Angela Merkel’s blazers” -- literally that is a quote from the promo for the segment.
But Merkel’s visit to Greece isn’t the first occasion to weirdly spark an interest in her wardrobe. This nice graphic of all her different pantssuit varieties -- which Buzzfeed also titled with a 50 Shades of Grey reference -- made the internet rounds a few months ago.
Of course, the German chancellor is just the latest in a long line of female politicians to face heightened scrutiny for her decision to wear the same thing that every male politician wears every day. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has long been the target of mockery for her famed pantsuits. And apparently when former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi gives interviews there are often questions about her pastel pantsuits mixed in with questions, about you know, actual policy.
We here at HuffPostBiz aren’t shy about giving Angela Merkel a hard time for possibly helping to ruin the European economy. But we promise to lay off the pantsuits.
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