Posted on 04/17/2008 5:11:56 AM PDT by SkyPilot
MADRID, Spain (April 16) - Here's an image Spaniards will not soon forget: their new defense minister, reviewing trim, crisply uniformed soldiers, with her baby bump on display.
Wearing a black pants suit and a white maternity blouse, Chacon reviews troops in Madrid on Monday after being sworn in as defense minister. She is one of nine women in Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's Cabinet, compared to eight men.
The surprise appointment of Carme Chacon, age 37 and with no military experience, is the boldest statement yet from a Socialist government that has made gender equality one of its top priorities.
Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who won re-election in March, unveiled a Cabinet Monday that not only gives Spain its first female defense minister but also features nine women to eight men. That compares to a 50-50 split in his first term, when there were 16 ministers.
Carme Chacon is the first woman to serve as Spain's defense minister, and she's seven months pregnant. Critics say Chacon, 37, has no military experience. Supporters say the appointment demonstrates that not only can a woman hold a senior position in government or business, but she can do it while expecting a baby.
Photos of Chacon -- who is seven months pregnant -- reviewing the soldiers ran on the front page of seven national newspapers on Tuesday, and footage of the appearance dominated Spanish television. Her photo was also on the front page of the International Herald Tribune.
Although women's rights advocates have Chacon's appointment, some conservatives have raised objections. A group of retired officers criticized her lack of military background while insisting her pregnancy was not a problem.
Chacon is now one of the most visible members of a government that has enacted sweeping social legislation designed to rid traditionally male-dominated Spain of gender discrimination.
It legalized gay marriage, streamlined divorce procedures, forced political parties to field more female candidates and passed a law designed to promote women in the workplace and pressure companies to put more of them in their boardrooms.
Chacon, left, talks with two fellow Cabinet members outside the parliament building Wednesday. Zapatero's government has already made radical changes in traditionally male-dominated Spain. It legalized gay marriage, streamlined divorce procedures, and forced political parties to field more female candidates.
This time Zapatero even created a new department, the Equality Ministry, to press these goals. The portfolio went to a 31-year-old woman, Bibiana Aido.
Women's advocacy groups are delighted with the prime minister's choice of Chacon to oversee a military force that was not even open to women a generation ago. Now 15 percent of its 130,000 troops are women.
Feminists see a twin statement from the prime minister: Not only can a woman hold a senior position in government or business, but she can do it while expecting a baby.
"Perhaps the message is that even the highest responsibilities have to be compatible with the issue of individual and personal responsibility. That is the real political message behind this," said Marisa Soleto, vice president of a Madrid-based advocacy group called the Women's Foundation.
Chacon, who was housing minister in the last government, wore heels, a black pant suit and white maternity blouse as she reviewed troops Monday at a ceremony in which she officially took over her post. Her husband is Miguel Barroso, who in the past has worked in Zapatero's press office.
She called the troops to attention, ordered them to join her in saying "Long live Spain, long live the King," and gave a brief speech in which she said her appointment was a sign of progress.
"The fact that a woman is taking over responsibility for the Defense Ministry is proof of integration between Spanish society and its armed forces," Chacon said.
Spaniards are now wondering how the military will digest having a female boss.
A senior military official told the newspaper El Pais anonymously that "we receive her with the same respect as her predecessors, and with even more politeness."
The Association of the Spanish Military, made up of retirees, called Zapatero's decision a mistake -- not because of her pregnancy but because it feels she is too inexperienced.
The conservative newspaper El Mundo said it has no problem with seeing a female defense minister, but a pregnant one raises all kinds of concerns, such as whether she will take all of the 16 weeks of leave she is entitled to when the baby is born in June.
The combination of a crisis situation among Spanish peacekeepers in Afghanistan or Lebanon and a defense minister on maternity leave would leave Spain in an "absurd" situation, it said an editorial. Plus, Chacon has no knowledge of military affairs.
"All signs are that Zapatero is using the armed forces as a guinea pig for a provocative experiment," it said. "Time will tell if this is major progress or nonsense."
"We can't participate in the United Nations-backed peace action because 67% of our front-line units are pregnant at this time."
Poor Duchy of Grand Fenwick......um.....I mean Spain.
Leni
That was great...almost pissed myself laughing.
And without having any experience. Isn't that great!?
Carme Chacón contrajo el 14 de diciembre de 2007 matrimonio con el periodista Miguel Barroso, ex secretario de Estado de Comunicación en la VIII Legislatura.
Ah, a shotgun wedding. On the other hand, maybe he’s not the father after all.
Whatever..........
It's not like any experience is needed. If they run into any real serious problems they can alway count on the United States to save them.
In Socialist countries, the role of defense minister is not highly regarded. It is a stepping stone to the more powerful ministries like Health and Human Welfare.
When I was a lad I served a term
As office boy to an attorney's firm
I cleaned the windows and I swept the floor
And I polished up the handle of the big front door
I polished up that handle so carefully
That now I am the Ruler of the Queen's Navy
As office boy I made such a mark
That they gave me the post of a junior clerk
I served the writs with a smile so bland
And I copied all the letters in a big round hand
I copied all the letters in a hand so free
That now I am the Ruler of the Queen's Navy
In serving writs I made such a name
That an articled clerk I soon became
I wore clean collars and a brand-new suit
For the Pass Examination at the Institute
And that Pass Examination did so well for me
That now I am the Ruler of the Queen's Navy
Of legal knowledge I acquired such a grip
That they took me into the partnership
And that junior partnership I ween
Was the only ship that I ever had seen
But that kind of ship so suited me
That now I am the Ruler of the Queen's Navy
I grew so rich that I was sent
By a pocket borough into Parliament
I always voted at my Party's call
And I never thought of thinking for myself at all
I thought so little, they rewarded me
By making me the Ruler of the Queen's Navy
Now, landsmen all, whoever you may be
If you want to rise to the top of the tree
If your soul isn't fettered to an office stool
Be careful to be guided by this golden rule
Stick close to your desks and never go to sea
And you all may be Rulers of the Queen's Navy
Spain's a democracy. How often do qualifications match up with the job when the winners are dividing the spoils>
It doesn't take me any time to realise that this is nonsense.
Yes, and a married, ethnic-Spanish couple’s having a child is quite a rarity these days. Best wishes to all of them.
Scary to think that she has even less military experience than Les Aspin did when Clintler made him SecDef.
Am I the only one that is sick of hearing the term “baby bump”? Come on, this should be an international affairs story, instead of a US Weekly tabloid spread.
No, I'm the other one.
LOL
The "37 year old" part doesn't inspire a lot of confidence either...
While the article doesn't say, my money is on this guy.
from the article:” Her husband is Miguel Barroso, who in the past has worked in Zapatero’s press office.”
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