When Orban approached, Juncker said "the dictator is coming," prompting a nervous laugh from Latvian Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma.
Juncker greeted Orban with “Hello, dictator” and slapped him on the right cheek.
The barb, made in front of the press at the Latvian summit, came amid growing unease over the policies of Orban’s rightwing government, which has carried out constitutional changes and brought more authoritarian rule, crackdown on civic groups and efforts to build an "illiberal state" taking cues from authoritarian regimes like Russia and China, critics says.
Juncker was clearly in a more light-hearted mood. He also ribbed Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras for not wearing a tie.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban
'Hello, dictator’: Jean-Claude Juncker jokes with Viktor Orban.
No comments:
Post a Comment