Politicians and their meeting dress

Sunanda K Datta-Ray says Xi Jing's choice of Mao suit at the foundation day ceremony of the Chinese Communist party signals the revival of Mao's orthodoxy and the party's supremacy

If manners maketh man, one has only to admire Narendra Modi’s flamboyantly flowing turban and dazzling Nehru — oops, sorry, Hindustani — jacket on Republic Day to understand that clothes help to make politicians. 

However, the sartorial star of the current political show isn’t India’s prime minister. It’s Xi Jinping even if his Chinese Communist Party (CCP) with 92 million members comes a feeble second to Mr Modi’s 180 million-strong Bharatiya Janata Party. The demure Mao coat that replaced Mr Xi’s usual immaculate Western suit at the CCP’s centennial celebrations was itself the message. If 40 years ago, Deng Xiaoping