Given politics’ changeable nature, who’s the ideal wife for a politician?

Having a TV weather presenter, even a former one, in the family may prove to be a capital idea for politicians everywhere, but especially so for those who have to get by on the subcontinent where winds seem to change without warning most of the time.

This assumes significance as mere political forecasters have often been disastrously unable to predict the onset, much less the outcome, of many of the most formidable storms of recent times, leaving politicians marooned in irretrievable positions, swamped by unexpected waves or swept away by vicious undercurrents. The flood of recriminations that inevitably follow such calamities also naturally bode ill for aspirants of high office.

As is becoming more obvious by the day, weather is now the most critical phenomenon that eludes human mastery and constantly manages to surprise and overwhelm. In the event, having an articulate, in-house weather expert who will cast a more than dispassionate eye on gathering clouds, imminent cold spells or impending (voter) droughts and convey the relevant atmospherics would be of incalculable value in this region.

Imran Khan must be commended for making a presumably permanent commitment to this truism by marrying a former BBC weather anchor. Others less convinced could try inducting some into their parties?