This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/05/grinning-francois-hollande

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
In praise of … grinning and bearing it In praise of … grinning and bearing it
(12 days later)
Can an unflattering photograph sink a political career? It would be interesting to know David Miliband's views, but it is often said that the former foreign secretary's credibility never quite recovered from that banana snap five years ago. Now François Hollande is at risk of being defined by a gormless smile that was captured – and then withdrawn – by Agence France-Presse as he visited a school in northern France this week. If that suggests that centre-left politicians need to be on their guard, that may be true, although William Hague's baseball caps have also been career setbacks, while George W Bush must wish he had looked a bit more masterful when he was snapped being told about 9/11. Politicians are no different from the rest of us in being sensitive about their appearance, and it is all terribly unfair, especially in the viral era. Even so, it is hard not to admit that even unbecoming snaps tell us something oddly true.Can an unflattering photograph sink a political career? It would be interesting to know David Miliband's views, but it is often said that the former foreign secretary's credibility never quite recovered from that banana snap five years ago. Now François Hollande is at risk of being defined by a gormless smile that was captured – and then withdrawn – by Agence France-Presse as he visited a school in northern France this week. If that suggests that centre-left politicians need to be on their guard, that may be true, although William Hague's baseball caps have also been career setbacks, while George W Bush must wish he had looked a bit more masterful when he was snapped being told about 9/11. Politicians are no different from the rest of us in being sensitive about their appearance, and it is all terribly unfair, especially in the viral era. Even so, it is hard not to admit that even unbecoming snaps tell us something oddly true.
Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning.