2023-11-06 10:56:15
During a conference held Thursday in Berlin on EU enlargement, bringing together the various foreign ministers of the member states, Croatian Minister Gordan Grlić-Radman tried to forcefully kiss his counterpart German, Annalena Baerbock, reports Politico.
Indeed, when taking the group photo in front of the media, Mr. Grlić-Radman vigorously leaned towards Ms. Baerbock to kiss her on the mouth. She quickly turned her head to present her cheek. If, on the surface, the minister seems to be laughing at the situation, the scene was filmed by numerous media.
This story is reminiscent of the attack by Luis Rubiales, former leader of Spanish football, who forcibly kissed one of the players.
Gordan Grlić-Radman defended himself by calling his gesture clumsy, but apologized: “We ministers always greet each other cordially. If anyone saw anything wrong with it, then I apologize to whoever took it that way.” For many, however, the gesture does not go through. On Friday, Rada Borić, a prominent Croatian women’s rights activist and former lawmaker, said “it was a completely inappropriate gesture.”
Also read Forced kiss affair: the resignation of Luis Rubiales and the curse of Jenni Hermoso
She adds: “It seems the minister doesn’t know the protocol, as a ‘warmer greeting’ should be with people with whom you have a relationship that allows you to greet them with a kiss. And here it is clear that such a relationship does not exist”
At a press conference on Saturday, Annalena Baerbock declined to comment on the incident.
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