During a European summit between the foreign ministers of the European Union, the head of Croatian diplomacy, Gordan Grlić Radman, imposed a visibly non-consensual kiss on his German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock.
The worlds of football and international politics unfortunately have more in common than we thought. A few months after the sexual assault committed by the president of the Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubiales, on the player Jennifer Hermoso – which led to her suspension – it is a Croatian minister who is accused of a forced kiss, reports Courrier international. Gordan Grlić Radman, Minister of Foreign Affairs in Croatia, arrived late to a summit between European ministers on November 2 in Berlin. As he takes a front row position for the traditional group photograph, he sits next to Annalena Baerbock, his German counterpart. Gordan Grlić Radman then grabs the green minister’s hand and leans in to kiss her. In extremis, she turns her head, presenting him with her cheek and an embarrassed smile.
Excuses that don’t convince
The video of this moment went viral on social networks and the lack of consent from Annalena Baerbock is obvious. It is very clear that if the minister had not quickly turned her head, Gordan Grlić Radman’s gesture would have turned into a kiss on the mouth. Later, the head of Croatian diplomacy briefly explained the incident filmed by cameras around the world. “We, the ministers, always greet each other cordially. If anyone saw something wrong in it, then I apologize to whoever took it that way,” he said, explains Le Soir.
“A completely inappropriate gesture”
The minister’s explanations are not convincing. According to RFI, he is accused of shaming his country in Croatia. Former Croatian MP Rada Borić believes that “it was a completely inappropriate gesture”. “It seems that the minister does not know the protocol, because a ‘warmer greeting’ should be done with people with whom you have a relationship that allows you to greet them with a kiss. And here it is clear that no such relationship exists,” she added. Annalena Baerbock, questioned on the subject two days after the incident, refused to make a comment.
This article is originally published on neonmag.fr
