The lady’s not for pussyfooting

Media in democracies can never truly be brought to heel; neither can politicians. So, it is entirely fitting that at the annual conference of the ruling Conservative Party in Britain, given the limelight shone on the new PM’s shoes and Theresa May made it a point not to tiptoe around her very wellknown predilection for interesting footwear. Rather than trying to shake off the legacy of appearing in flirty leopard print kitten heels at a previous party jamboree, she decided to debut new shoes on two consecutive days.

While metal-tipped loafers earned her the expected sobriquet of Steel Lady —a nod to Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher — the velvet bows on the crystal-studded court shoes she wore for the keynote speech were certainly in step with the iron-hand-in-velvetglove message, albeit in a metatarsal metaphor.

She was a shoo-in to succeed David Cameron, so her propensity to boot out the unnecessary and her distaste for flipflops — she even turned down a trade unionist’s demand this June to wear flat shoes to promote equality in the workplace —are not surprising. Indeed, one day her choice of shoes could be construed as pointers to her subsequent actions; after all, former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright wrote in her autobiography Read My Pins that she used her brooch collection to convey her mood or opinion.