Double Bill: Aim at a couple of top jobs

Spouses seeking very high political office is no longer considered an oddity even in the US and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has gone so far as to indicate a role for her husband Bill in her administration. So, the move this week by the Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega to nominate his wife Rosario Murillo as his vice-presidential running mate in the November elections sounds quite logical. After all, she has played a very active political role as First Lady and is definitely the person her husband trusts most. Besides, Central and South Americas have had quite a few spousal precedents — and presidents — unlike the US. Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Isabel Perón both succeeded their husbands in Argentina, for instance, and the former first ladies of Honduras and Guatemala ran, albeit unsuccessfully, for president after their spouses.

Entire families in politics are fairly common across the ideological spectrum in India but no couples have made Ortegatype joint bids — possibly due to the fact that none of the nation’s top three posts are directly elected. However, that prospect cannot be ruled out in future. After all, besides the Nehru-Gandhi series of prime ministers, states regularly see spouses (and very often their children) succeeding each other as chief ministers.