‘SUPER-WIFE’ ROLE

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33027, 21 September 1972, Page 7

‘SUPER-WIFE ’ ROLE

(By

BETH SAUNDERS)

LONDON.

Each morning, as you contemplate the hundred and one jobs which make up every housewife’s day, you might be excused for thinking you have .problems. If so, be thankful you are not the wife of one of the world’s leading politicians.

In addition to tending the needs of their families, they are automatically expected to be available to address countless meetings, continually give press receptions and interviews, chair dozens of committees, and be successful hostesses at a seemingly endless number of official functions.

Certainly, that’s the sort of life Mrs Patricia Nixon, leads. But you will never hear her complain. And that fact she manages to cope with all those outside pressures and still remain a good wife and mother has little to do with having a substantial amount of money. Top politicians are comparatively badly paid for the work they do, and their wives are expected to act as unpaid hostesses at all kinds of official functions. Yet, surprisingly, the system works — mainly because of the dedication and extraordinary efficiency of the women concerned. PRIME MOTIVE

Their prime motive is that they know it can make all the difference to their husband’s success in his career. That Mrs Nixon has established herself as a model of what a successful wife and mother at the top should be is all the more meritorious in that she did not even want to be the First Lady m the first place. When her husband told her that he hoped to run again for President for the third time, she spent hours trying to change his mind. But when she realised his mind was made up, she refused to let her personal feelings enter into it. And she has impressed everyone by the energy and enthusiasm she constantly puts into the job she never really wanted. Remarkably, one of her hardest tasks is the problem that faces us all — the household budget. Surprisingly, the allowances for a President’s wife are not very generous — and the amount of official entertaining expected quickly eats up what money there is.

But though she leads the sort of life that would leave.

most of us panting at the starting post, the more engagements she has in her already overflowing diary, the better she likes it. Mind you, her first two years at the White House saw her uneasy, perhaps even a little flustered. Then came the tragic earthquakes in Peru, and Mrs Nixon travelled incessantly to the devastated areas to organise relief and report back to the United States on what needed to be done. From then on, as her engagements have mounted, she has gone through her day with ever-growing ease. She has coped well on the domestic front because she has early experience to fall back on. For Mrs Nixon was running a household at the age of 12 after her mother died of cancer. That experience taught her never to be idle. Her secret of getting things done? In a word —- decisiveness. "She never dithers about,” says a White House aide. In Britain, Lady Elspeth Howe—wife of the SolicitorGeneral, Sir Geoffrey Howe —also has to cram an official day into an alreadypacked private life. She needs to, as the wife of one of the nation’s top legal officials and a senior member of the Government. There are three children who have demanded her attention —Alexander and Amanda, both now 13, and Caroline, who is 16. There is the garden, too, in the fashionable London suburb where she lives. It is well stocked with roses and flower beds, which are all tended by Lady Howe.

Besides this, there is her work as chairman of a juvenile court in a South London suburb, not to mention her involvement with official committees, education, and nursing. “For three years, I was what is called an additional member of ILEA, the London education authority. That took, on average, two days a week,” she says. Lady Howe achieves it all by planning her days meticulously. Committees, gardening, work in her busband’s constituency in South London —all have their allotted period during the day. “Sometimes,” she says, “I have to do some slight reorganising. The holidays, for instance, must be kept free for the children. MRS MARY WILSON Mrs Mary Wilson, wife of the former British Prime Minister, Mr Harold Wilson, has found that the work-load has not slackened very much since her husband became Leader of the Opposition. There is still a round of official visits, committees, and party functions to work into her day. And, as a best-selling poet, she has a flourishing literary career on her hands as well. Yet she manages to sail through the lot without any visible sign of distress, and without being able to call on a houseful of servants, either. In her case, it is a matter of relaxation, and the virtue of not taking herself too seriously. When her album of recorded poetry was released last year, Mrs Wilson scoffed at the idea that she might be competing with her husband as a public speaker. “His work,” she said, “is serious.” mrs McGovern For Eleanor McGovern, wife of the American Democratic Presidential candidate, Senator George McGovern, life is becoming hectic, too. A mother of five and grandmother of three, the pretty, diminutive prospective First Lady looks far younger than her 50 years. Until November, she will be campaigning tirelessly for her husband, and will travel independently to areas her husband will not have time to visit. She owes her efficiency to energy and organisation. “She is a powerhouse,” a veteran Washington reporter said recently, after following Mrs McGovern on a tour of the poor districts of Chicago. Perhaps being an ordinary housewife is not quite so bad, after all.—Features International.