My Take | Top EU envoy’s lesson in being undiplomatic
- Cries of racism as Josep Borrell whips up storm in college speech by comparing Europe to ‘a garden’ and everywhere else as ‘a jungle’
It’s extremely rare for a top diplomat to offend so many people and countries in a single speech. Diplomats, after all, are supposed to be diplomatic. Even China’s infamous “wolf warrior” envoys have not managed such a feat.
But take it from Josep Borrell, the European Union foreign policy chief; he’s done it.
You may have already heard about his offending and now viral speech, in which he compares the EU to “a garden” and everywhere else “a jungle”.
Guess you and I are all just wild animals! Ironically, he said it at the new European Diplomatic Academy in Bruges, Belgium, before its students.
The furore and now his “sorry, not sorry” apology make for excellent teaching materials, as a negative example of what not to do or say for a diplomat. In an online post, he said he was sorry some people were offended. In other words, “too bad you’re so darned sensitive!”
He has whipped up such a diplomatic storm that the United Arab Emirates has summoned the acting head of the EU delegation in the emirates to condemn his remarks as “inappropriate and discriminatory”.