Zapatero

Spanish prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has impeccable moral heritage and socialist genes. His paternal grandfather, Republican Captain Juan Rodríguez y Lozano, was executed in August 1936 for refusing to fight in Franco’s National army during the Spanish Civil War. Before he was lined up against a wall and shot for his beliefs, Rodríguez y Lozano left his family a will where he divided up his worldly possessions and declared his "love for peace, for good and for improving the living conditions of the lower classes".

That’s quite a strong testament to leave and it appears, to a certain extent, that it is a creed that his grandchild, and current President of the Government in Spain, is trying to live up to. Good intentions are one thing, but any country has to be led and governed in a responsible and sober manner. Having said that, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is the leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, so there can be no doubt about his political and fundamental alliance.

The “love for peace” showed itself when Rodríguez Zapatero pulled out the Spanish troops from Iraq in 2004, pissing Bush off in the process. But the prime minister judged his people correctly and was re-elected in 2008. Parts of the success also lies with his wife, Sonsoles Espinosa, who’s fêted by the international style press for her love of dark and black clothes.

Rodríguez Zapatero himself is not making any waves on the fashion scene, but then again he isn’t known for any sartorial abnormalities either. Rather, he too has a habit of mixing a darker colour palette for his suits with nicely striped shirts and luxuriously structured ties. The only problem is, as a computer hacker recently made clear on the website for Spain’s current EU presidency, that José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero looks a lot like Mr Bean, and that’s never a good look.