Oh dear. After weeks of unedifying rows over Europe’s vaccine procurement disaster, two top Brussels’ officials are now embroiled in a new diplomatic incident. On Tuesday, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president Charles Michel paid a trip to Ankara to meet with Turkish leader President Erdoğan.
Unfortunately the three hour long discussion on issues such as women’s rights got off to a bad start when von der Leyen was denied an armchair beside Erdoğan as the discussions began, being instead confined to a sofa opposite Turkish foreign minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu. A visibly annoyed von der Leyen muttered ‘Ehm’ and gesticulated at the occupied seats, as Michel and Erdoğan made themselves comfortable at the head of the gilded room in the presidential complex.
Of course #Sofagate quickly exploded on Twitter, with MEPs lining up to proclaim their indignation at the perceived sidelining of the continent’s top female Eurocrat.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in