If you are an aspiring politician who wants to draw attention to yourself, what better way than to pose awkwardly on a Mediterranean holiday island with a glamorous aristocrat with multiple extravagant names.
The tactic certainly worked for Jordan Bardella, the telegenic young hope of France’s far-right.
Pictures of the 30-year-old president of Rassemblement National (RN) and Princess Maria Carolina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duchess of Calabria and Palermo, 22 – let’s just call her ‘Duchess’ – were beamed all over the world, after first appearing as an exclusive on the cover of Paris Match, the celebrity glossy.
Both Mr Bardella and the Duchess were dressed in matching blue as they paraded stiffly along Corsica’s rocky shore under the potentially ironic headline: ‘The romance no one expected.’
They kept their sunglasses on, and there was no hint of passion, but further photographs inside showed occasional hand-holding.
Organised set-up
Princess Maria Carolina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duchess of Calabria and PalermoCredit: Independent Photo Agency Srl / Alamy
In fact, there was nothing at all surprising about the absurdly cringeworthy images. They were a set-up organised by Mr Bardella’s political party, because the eternal bachelor needs a lady by his side if he is to have any chance of becoming France’s head of state.
He is currently a favourite to replace Emmanuel Macron as president in a year’s time, so Operation Normal Guy is in full swing, with the Duchess – who happens to list “social media influencer” among her job titles – a willing accessory.
This highlights not only how socially conservative France remains, but how cynical its political spin doctors are.
He is by no means a strong character, and is instead as bland and unoriginal as his woefully simplistic economic policies.
Being forced to stage those photos for the Corsican paparazzi – party sources have outlined all the excruciating details – must have been agony for him.
Mr Bardella’s choreographed turn with the Duchess was straight out of the 1950s Hollywood studio playbook, when less-than-macho male matinée idols had to appear with obliging females by their side to keep their adoring fans happy.
Successful movies were all about creating illusions, both on and off camera.
Playing the game
All French presidents to date have been encouraged to play the game. Mr Macron proudly shows off his septuagenarian first lady, Brigitte Macron, whenever he can, while his predecessor at the Elysée Palace, François Hollande, cheated on one live-in lover – the political affairs correspondent of Paris Match, no less – before replacing her with an actress.
Beyond trying to mimic such behaviour – albeit with a lot more decorum – Mr Bardella must surely be embarrassed that his new “official girlfriend” is wholly inappropriate for a far-right xenophobe.
The Duchess’s name is a big clue to the fact that she could not be more Italian.
Worse still, she is a paid-up member of the pan-European glitterati who spend most of their time showing off their extreme wealth in the hotspots of the rich and famous, such as Monte Carlo.
Yes, Mr Bardella is himself of Italian stock, but he makes much of being born and brought up on a tough council estate in the northern Paris suburbs.
He is meant to appeal to the aspirational French working class, not socialites who literally think they are royalty, despite living in republics.
Hobnobbing with a duchess was a bad move by Mr Bardella, who – like anybody else in the world – should be allowed to carry on as a proud singleton, without his personal life having anything to do with his political career.
