What is a First Husband to do?<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): In times of need, we call on the people who know
\nbest what we are going through. They are a sympathetic shoulder
\nto cry on, an empathetic ear to pour out our troubles to and say
\nwhat is on our mind.<\/p>\n
So, right now, I imagine there is a flurry of harried e-mails
\ngoing back and forth, fast and furious, between the home of
\nMegawati Soekarnoputri and Manila's Malacanang Palace.<\/p>\n
For, amid all the ballyhoo about our new President as the
\nfirst woman to govern this country, plus all the jockeying for
\npositions in the Cabinet, one single, solitary figure has been
\nleft out of the picture.<\/p>\n
It's Mr. Megawati.<\/p>\n
I don't imagine for a minute that Taufik Kiemas is sitting at
\nhome in the shadows, biding his time with a diet of presidential
\npalace snacks and telenovellas as he waits for aforesaid Citizen
\nNumber One to pull up in the driveway after a day of dealing with
\nthe snakes in the jungle of politics.<\/p>\n
Ready and waiting at the door with the afternoon newspaper and
\na steaming hot cup of coffee? Not likely.<\/p>\n
Of course, Taufik, a businessman and legislator, is better
\nprepared than most men to have to play second fiddle to his wife.
\nIt came with the territory when he married the eldest daughter of
\nthe country's first president, with that luminous last name which
\nstill strikes awe and reverence in many a humble heart.<\/p>\n
But, except for a few unwanted foreign media articles asking
\nquestions about his business dealings, he has remained pretty
\nmuch in the background, a bit of a mystery, the dutiful husband
\nproviding the moral sustenance for his wife.<\/p>\n
Yet becoming a First Husband means that, like it or not, he
\nwill have to deal with a bit more of the spotlight. He got a
\nfirst taste of it when the cameras captured his tearful reaction
\nin the legislature to the inevitability of a Megawati presidency.<\/p>\n
At least one man, Mr. Arroyo, himself the subject of a few
\nprying questions about business deals, knows very well what he is
\ngoing through. I don't know about you, but I like to think that
\nperhaps they have been burning up the telephone lines, swapping
\nstories about their new positions in life.<\/p>\n
Because, except for the world's First Ladies, Taufik and his
\nPhilippine counterpart (now who remembers his first name?) do not
\nhave many examples to live by. With the way of the world, there
\nhave been scant male presidential or royal consorts to take as
\nexamples.<\/p>\n
In England and Sweden centuries ago, queens Elizabeth and
\nChristina chose to go it alone in leading their countries, while
\nQueen Victoria of Britain was forever in black after the love of
\nher life, Albert, died relatively young. Today, the husbands of
\nthe few remaining female rulers (Denmark, the Netherlands) of the
\nworld remain pretty much unseen and unheard.<\/p>\n
There are exceptions, but perhaps their behavior is not the
\nbest standard for Taufik to live by. Prince Philip, despite
\nkeeping a few steps behind his wife, Queen Elizabeth II, has made
\na name for himself in his own right -- for his biting tongue.
\nOnly a few days ago he pulled aside one unfortunate little boy at
\na space expo and told him that if he wanted to go into space he
\nwould have to drop some of the lard. According to his mom, the
\nboy is now traumatized by his brush with royalty.<\/p>\n
For First Husbands of prime ministers and presidents, the
\nexamples are not much better. Dennis Thatcher emerged as a bit of
\nan ornery old man, taken to barking at photographers on golf
\ncourses (which some wag explained away as all those years of
\nliving with the Iron Lady). Benazir Bhutto's husband got into
\ntrouble for corruption, dragging his wife's name through the mud
\nin the process.<\/p>\n
Slim pickings? Well, then, Taufik could always take a leaf out
\nof the books of some famous First Ladies, most of them from the
\nU.S.<\/p>\n
For example, he could become a roving ambassador for good
\nfaith and humanity in the country (unlikely) a la Eleanor
\nRoosevelt. Or he could take a long, hard look at the presidential
\npalace and set about doing a Jackie Kennedy revamping
\n(unlikelier).<\/p>\n
What about cleaning up the country's highways and byways, in
\nthe vein of Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson, so that the country presents
\na green face to the world (better choice, but he certainly would
\nhave his job cut out for him).<\/p>\n
Closer to home, he could copy the idea of the late Tien
\nSoeharto and build a monstrous Mega park, a tribute to his wife,
\nher life and her family. There could be the Mega roller-coaster,
\nthe Mega Museum and an all-you-can-eat Mega meal at the Mega Food
\nCourt. It would be a natural for corporate advertising (the Mega
\nMac?), with his wife's name lending itself so well to all types
\nof overblown advertising copy (\"For a Mega good time, head over
\nto Much Ado About Mega Park ...\").<\/p>\n
Probably, though, Taufik will do a Cherie Blair, remaining in
\nbusiness and the legislature, being at his spouse's side when she
\nneeds him and going about his own quiet way. But if he changes
\nhis mind and you hear reports of him buying up a huge plot of
\nland near Blitar, remember you read it here first.<\/p>\n
-- Bruce Emond<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/what-is-a-first-husband-to-do-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }