It was a hard call.
I looked at the faces of Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen in an attempt to predict the winner of the recent French elections purely from a face reading perspective, taking the facial Life Points as a starting point.
I looked at the faces of Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen in an attempt to predict the winner of the recent French elections purely from a face reading perspective, taking the facial Life Points as a starting point.
Macron’s face at 39 yrs (40 yrs in face reading) showed his right eye with an ‘unlucky’ white area between the iris and the lower eyelid, and a line across the bridge of the nose which is not straight and slightly narrow: the energy of the election might not flow his way and difficulties in the next 2/3 years.
Le Pen’s face indicated a loss of energy at 50 yrs (51 yrs): flat philtrum, lack of prominent career/naso-labial lines, a small nose (denoting ego and career) in comparison to Macron’s strong nose. But, facial futurology aside, she had the zeitgeist behind her (anti-immigration, populism, Trump, Brexit) which I thought might pull her through. I decided to sit on the fence. In the end, the French voted for the unknown baby-blue eyes and Hope over Fascism.
Is the result more obvious from the faces of Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn in the upcoming U.K. Election? At the start of the campaign the facial diagnosis looked like a case of ‘cheekbones over no-cheekbones’. Clear cut. A. No. Brainer. Wide and big cheekbones in Chinese Face Reading are power signs, the ability to be The Boss, the ‘Supreme Leader’. And May’s are certainly well-defined, giving the all-important width to her triangular-shaped face. They don’t angle out like Thatcher’s chevron cheekbones but then May is not as much of a ‘bloody difficult woman’ as her predecessor.
High cheekbones are found on those with the closed-off, strong, structured character and constitution of those with the Metal Element, one of the Five Elements of Chinese medicine and Facial Diagnosis. Initially we saw her metal element at work: ruthlessly wielding the sword against arch-enemy George Osborne and sacking Nicky Morgan for her comments on leather trousers. The cerebral metal element gives May a strong will, logic, a narrow vision, lack of political transparency, a love of high-end fashion, and chunky silver necklaces. But, crystalline and rigid in nature, the metal element personality doesn't go-with-the-flow like the Water Element, doesn’t become clubbable with colleagues, nor explode in fiery tantrums like the impetuous and unpredictable President Trump. So far, so good - she looked like a safe pair of hands. But read on …
In traditional Chinese physiognomy the face shape most suited to Government is the long, oblong shape of the planning and decision making Wood Element. In Beijing, the seat of government in China, there's a predominance of Wood Element faces. For the shape, think Tony Blair ... or, maybe not. Corbyn has a wood element face with the high forehead of the ideas person and the triangular eyes of the politician - (see previous blog ‘Boris, Brexit and Baloney’, Public Faces 3/9/2016 on Boris Johnson and Margaret Thatcher). His triangle-shaped peepers reveal the ability to 'see round corners' and the knack of turning a situation to his advantage. The iron fist of control in the velvet glove. But, and here's the thing, as they say in TV series in the US, Corbyn doesn't have stonking cheekbones. Worse still, they are slightly concave and he doesn’t have the width in his face. Additionally, May’s career lines are longer than Corbyn’s. A decent and kind bloke, a good campaigner and activist, an ideas man, but a leader and Prime Minister? Face reading says ‘nope’.
Five weeks later, behind May’s groovy shoes, conscientious nature and ‘Presidential’ image, what we are seeing, despite the facial zygomatic arches which will probably see her back in No. 10, is a stress-tested Prime Minister nervous about debate, confrontation, personal contact with voters and relaxing the 'strong and stable' propaganda for a minute.
Is she equal to the type of leadership now required? In a recent biography (1) she is described as “a heavy lifter, not a heavy hitter”. An administrator. A Maybot. She’s happier staying busy with the details, absorbed in activities she loves and unavailable to the outside world which makes her hesitant and nervous. Impressionable U-turning has replaced decisive action. Ambition looks like self-interested opportunism. However, her serious, feet on the ground approach could work for her as a ‘Brexit Administrator’, a job similar to Home Secretary for which she was more suited.
Is she equal to the type of leadership now required? In a recent biography (1) she is described as “a heavy lifter, not a heavy hitter”. An administrator. A Maybot. She’s happier staying busy with the details, absorbed in activities she loves and unavailable to the outside world which makes her hesitant and nervous. Impressionable U-turning has replaced decisive action. Ambition looks like self-interested opportunism. However, her serious, feet on the ground approach could work for her as a ‘Brexit Administrator’, a job similar to Home Secretary for which she was more suited.
I can see another undermining anxiety on May’s face behind the shiny metal facade: it stems from her emotional make-up. It’s all in the panic and uncertainty in her eyes - or the 'frozen stare' under pressure - and her occasional trembling chin during interviews which, obviously, are easier to see when she speaks than a single photograph. Which brings us back to the water element. As a face reader this tells me her water element is stuck - fear of change, unable to think (flow) on her feet, a slippery quality, lack of compassion for the ‘just managing’. I saw the same with Hillary Clinton who repressed the emotional (water) side of her nature to make it in a man’s world. And people felt they couldn’t relate to her. A true leader has all elements of their personality working healthily together.
I think that May will be elected, with a majority reduced from the ‘slam dunk’ expected from the initial 20 point unassailable lead, and possibly vulnerable to a leadership challenge. But, similar to the French election and cheekbones or not, the UK zeitgeist of anti-austerity feeling, concern over a Hard Brexit, the youth vote and the Corbyn bounce might bring a result unexpected purely from an electoral face reading.
(1) Theresa May: The Enigmatic Prime Minister by Rosa Prince, publ by Biteback on 13 February 2017
I think that May will be elected, with a majority reduced from the ‘slam dunk’ expected from the initial 20 point unassailable lead, and possibly vulnerable to a leadership challenge. But, similar to the French election and cheekbones or not, the UK zeitgeist of anti-austerity feeling, concern over a Hard Brexit, the youth vote and the Corbyn bounce might bring a result unexpected purely from an electoral face reading.
(1) Theresa May: The Enigmatic Prime Minister by Rosa Prince, publ by Biteback on 13 February 2017