From Sánchez to Abascal: What does the clothing of the candidates for the Government transmit?

• General Elections 2023 | Sánchez, Abascal and Díaz face the hours before the RTVE debate from which Feijóo will be absent

The wardrobe is increasingly important in all facets of our lives, and even more so in politics, when it comes to public figures whose image is the packaging of the message they want to convey.. The appearance of current politicians is more informal, although certain codes continue to be maintained. Checkered shirts or very dense mustaches have remained in the past, like that of José María Aznar, who excessively covered the face of the popular leader on electoral posters. El Confidencial has contacted experts in image consultancy to analyze the clothing of the four main candidates for the presidency of the Government.

The socialist Pedro Sánchez is the political leader who risks the most with his clothing. He usually wears two types of look, depending on the occasion: classic color suits, with or without a tie, in the vast majority of events he attends as Prime Minister, and a more casual look at PSOE events, in which use shirts with casual tones such as water green or pink. In the case of Sánchez, “clothing transmits closeness, which is one of the objectives that any politician seeks,” says Roberto Sánchez, professional and personal image consultant. Feijóo intends to show “impartiality” and “order” with his outfit. Using garments with this type of color gives the politician a “sophisticated” style. While the white color abounds in the Galician's shirts during campaign rallies, with the purpose of showing a “neutral” position, blue, used less frequently by the popular, transmits “calm and serenity”.. Abascal's clothing does not vary excessively with Feijóo's.

Both leaders use “classic colors in the business world” to bet on a “safe” style, says Ana Iriberri, director of Ai Asesores de Imagen. Politicians, as they advance in positions of responsibility, seek to “transmit a greater image of security and management capacity, softening in many cases their looks”. It happens with the second vice president of the Government and candidate of Sumar, Yolanda Díaz. It is, probably, “one of the personalities of Spanish politics that has most evolved his personal image”, adds Iriberri. Díaz has created a school among the women who make up the Council of Ministers: Ione Belarra and Irene Montero also use a more formal and sophisticated look.

The image consultants consulted by El Confidencial consider Díaz's way of dressing “very accurate” and bet that there is a professional “behind this evolution.”. Iriberrii sees in the leader of Sumar a “positive” evolution: during her stage in municipal politics she was more “casual and with aggressive looks or differentiable from other politicians”. With the leap into national politics and, above all, as a result of having received positions of responsibility “she softened her image both in terms of her hairstyle, cut and color as well as her outfits, and she has achieved her own sophisticated style that have become, according to many, one of the best-dressed politicians in our country”, has assured.

Project an image depending on the context

It is also important to differentiate the image that politicians project in each situation: it is different to be at a rally in front of their voters than, for example, to participate in a televised debate in front of the entire country.. This is the case of the face-to-face between Sánchez and Feijóo, in which “they came with a very formal look, suits in classic cuts and ties with their corresponding corporate colors; while during campaign events it is easy to see them do without that accessory” , asserted Irriberri. Candidates are advised by image professionals who detail the color and style to use in each situation. However, “they don't always get it right” with the outfit.

The image consultants consulted by this newspaper consider that the image of politicians “has evolved”. Dress appropriately during interviews and rallies “take care” of the candidate's speeches. Roberto Sánchez assures that the human body expresses a first impulse to visualize the clothing of the person in front of us. When it's “correct, it fades into the background”. All candidates meet the image. However, the socialist leader, according to the adviser, is not correct in situations in which he wears a suit without a tie. Pedro Sánchez, a year ago, recovered the idea of eliminating this complement “to save from the energy point of view.”