Redefining right of centre

Jenny Noyes writes:

Here’s a thought worth clutching to in these trying times: By the time 2016 draws to a close, providing the voters of the United States don’t majorly screw it up for us all, the powerhouses of the western world will be dominated by female leaders.

Theresa May has become the United Kingdom’s second female leader since Margaret Thatcher put a small dent in the glass ceiling (before going on to shatter the working class). And in November, the world is expecting (and, let’s face it, mostly praying) that Hillary Clinton will win out over Donald Trump to become the first female President of the United States. These women join Angela Merkel as she continues her reign at the helm of Germany (and, ipso facto, her effective leadership of the EU).

Outside politics, there’s Janet Yellen at the head of the US Federal Reserve and Christine Lagarde at the head of the International Monetary Fund. A woman may head up the United Nations for the first time, too, if Christiana Figueres – currently the organisation’s climate chief – or former New Zealand PM Helen Clark, are successful in their respective tilts for the spot.

However Noyes says:

Of course, as a left-leaning feminist, witnessing the rise of these female politicians is bittersweet; and it can be tempting to dismiss the significance of the occasion as just another win for the establishment.

After all, every one of these female leaders sits somewhere to the right-of-centre; and they don’t necessarily identify as feminist.

Only someone who is hard left could consider they are all right of centre.

Theresa May and Angela Markel are.

Helen Clark is not.

Hillary Clinton is not. She is campaigning almost exclusively on left issues.

Christine Lagarde is from a political party that belongs to Socialist International.

And Janet Yellen is at best centrist or centre-left with her economic views. She is a known inflation dove rather than hawk.