Boris manspreading!!

Yes I too was taken in by the original photo yesterday but have since seen it in context. Macron jokingly invited Johnson to use the table as a footstool, which he did, very briefly and the moment was caught on camera.
I'm not a fan of this prime minister, but am more worried about knee-jerk reactions to the increasing incidence of fake news.

Harmonygranny and others of the same viewpoint....I totally agree, there was no manspreading or anything else going on, having watched the footage.It was a light moment between the two men to ease tensions.
Anyone who thinks different needs to actually watch it.
Social Media is full of hysteria.

As I already knew that the photo was printed out of context and that the two men were sharing a joke about low tables and footstools I did wonder at the righteous indignation shown at the beginning of this thread. Knee-jerk reactions to fake news indeed, Harmonygranny. But then I've often thought how self-satisfied and judgemental a lot of people who follow this kind of post are ... time they took a good long hard look at themselves, I feel.

What a storm in a teacup!!

Ou une tempête dans une verre d'eau!!

Unbelievable!

It was a joke.macron told Boris to put his feet up and relax. Honestly manspreading be bolloxed, you need to get a sense of humour

My only thought when I saw the clip this morning was how I couldn't imagine Theresa May displaying such over familiar comradery(sp?) and thought perhaps this was her downfall. Men seem to be able to build rapport very quickly man to man, Trump being a prime example, whereas put a woman in there and everyone starts discussing her wardrobe or how fat/thin she is.

Macron may have scored a point on the "force him to do a character-crushing pose for a photo" game, but it doesn't take my attention from the main point.

What is going to happen about the backstop? Boris is so stubborn over it. I cannot see the rest of Europe letting us leave without a backstop agreement. They would be crazy to do so!

To quote the Guardian:
"Johnson has repeatedly said the backstop – an insurance plan to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland – must go in order to avoid a no-deal exit. He argues it could leave the UK tied to the EU indefinitely.

But Macron said the backstop was both an indispensable guarantee for the stability of Ireland and a means of protecting the integrity of the European single market, and that any new UK ideas had to respect that."

Boris will not budge on it, but neither will he tell us what his plan is if the EU will not accept anything without a backstop. He has not told us what his plans are in the case of us being forced to leave with no deal. He has not explained how this would result in a hard border in Ireland and what his plans are to mitigate the disaster that a hard border would bring to the businesses on the Irish border. He just obstinately says he will not be tied to a backstop!

Is he crazy? Does he think that a trading group of nations is going to accept that we, a nation not part of their economic agreements, can live next door trading back and forth across the border with them for free with no agreement as to how we make up for the fact that we do not contribute to their tasing group any more? Does Boris really think it will all even out with what passes both ways? How naive is that?

I feel so sorry for the Irish who live and run their businesses near the border! They must be in a state of Clinical Anxiety by now! There are farmers who produce milk, I understand, whose farms and connections with Dairies concerns crossing the border several times. How on earth can Boris let them suffer, thinking he will not avoid a hard border, or else he will drive us into a no-deal exit, which obviously would be catastrophic and anyway would force us into endlessly trying to make little deals over this and that for years to come at enormous expense and loss of business and money.

I don't really care if M. Macron can get Boris to cock his leg onto a stool/low table or not. I am sure that during a relentlessly long discussion, they need to make the odd mood-raising joke.

I am terribly worried about the exit from the EU. I am sick with worry about Northern Ireland and the repercussions that not paying attention to their needs will have. N. Ireland has enjoyed such a long period of peaceful prosperity and good relationships with the mainland, I absolutely dread the people there feeling that they were sold down the river over Brexit and that the mainland did not give a damn about them. I am at the point of not being able to take much more of it.

It is embarrassing, nay galling, to me that our Leaders have come out of this process looking so unprofessional and silly while people among the EU leaders have been statesmanlike and have spoken with advice to us in measured and fair tones. I feel that the UK still plays at Politics, with its constant brawling against each other and acting as though it won't matter because they will just shout louder and get their own way.

They behave as if it is a matter of rich "chaps" having fun saying lots of rude things about the opposition and then going for a drink and huge dinner together. Whereas on the continent it is taken seriously, and discussed purposefully in an up to date and businesslike manner, showing respect for each other.

I often wish I could have moved to live in France when I was in my 30s!

No Dandilions which is why at least our current PM is trying to gain some rapport, working the room, doing his best to get a deal and if the f*()ing BBC could be as positive about what he is trying to do as ITV was last night (please all DO compare the two utterly different ten o’clock news reports) then just MAYBE something worth while might come out of two men joking around and seemingly, getting on quite well.

Couldn't agree more Neilspurgeon0, I despair of the BBC and refuse to watch their News programmes anymore, shame so many people are sucked into their news slants, instead of thinking for themselves.

Well Macron says to Boris "You could put your feet up," so Boris does it and a photo is taken which makes him look a prat. But don't worry because the prat is negotiating a new Brexit deal and everything is going to be fine!!!! Macron must be laughing himself sick.

Dandelions.
put a woman in there and everyone starts discussing her wardrobe or how fat/thin she is

Really? Everyone?

Nearly 65 years ago, I attended a co-ed Grammar School. We had a brilliant Debating Society. We held debates every week and observed the debating procedures. We also entered debating Competitions with enormous success.
There was never any difference between the boys and the girls in their debating skill, the content of their debate, the subject matter, attitude of delivery or in any other way. There was never any loss of respect for each other and it did not cross our minds to think about what a person looked like in regard to their physical appearance.

I do not agree with you that people just discuss a woman for her appearance. For example, I have been a keen follower of BBC2 Newsnight for years. I admire the women Presenters as much as the men and do not get distracted by their clothes, body shape, make-up or anything about their appearance. They are a brilliant, highly intelligent and very well informed group of professional people and I really enjoy hearing them interview the guests and make them stick to the question. Their appearance does not affect me. If there be any simpletons who cannot listen to anything presented by a woman without being distracted by her size or dress, then that is their problem. They are a minority.

I think we are a long way past the day when "put a woman in there and everyone starts discussing her wardrobe or how fat/thin she is".

Neilspurgeon0 Opal

Did you learn anything about Boris' plans for the Irish border?

I don't think so - we're not discussing Merkel's wardrobe or size are we?

What have we done to deserve two louts like Donald Trump and Boris Johnson in office?

grandtanteJE65

I could not agree more!

I sometimes get a creepy "Conspiracy Theory" fear come over me that the Lunatics have taken over the asylum. It's so weird that both Johnson and Trump's close ancestors come from Germany. Johnson's are german on one side and Turkish on the other and it's not that far back.

I get very morose sometimes about how people behave today and what they believe. To vote for Johnson who is a proven liar and has lost his job for it. To vote for Trump who is a proven liar and owes people so much money because he does not pay the builders and construction people for his Towers etc, yet he gets away with it! It is crazy! Today I was asked to take a look at something on Mumsnet, it horrified me. There were about 23 pages almost all from people being incredibly cruel and strongly opinionated towards the girl who naively asked a question about mat=rrying a man who already had children although he had not married their mother and she had left him for another long before this girl met him. The people were tearing her into shreds with the most horrendous names and swearing and making huge judgements about her. They were not answering her question, just giving her the most terrible battering they could muster. The terrible part was, they were imagining things about her which could not possibly be true. They had not read the facts and addressed the issue she raised. They just jumped to conclusions and used her to throw all their nastiest venom at!

I despair about people! When I read that, which I was asked to look at, I just kept thinking; these people vote. They probably vote for people like Boris Johnson. There is no hope. The lunatics have taken over. we are in the hands of incompetent, lying, scurrilous, self interested, untrustworthy thugs.
*Boris has*;
- been fired twice for lying to his bosses
- lied in his newspaper columns and was been forced to publicly apologise
- has been accused of attempting to blackmail the head of a national media organisation by his former boss.
- was unable to deny the role he played in planning to have a journalist beaten up
- boasted of “sticking up for the bankers” more than anyone else after the financial crisis.
- his first announcement was to give the wealthiest in society, including himself, a £3,000 tax break.

Don't you just love him?

Please do not take this as an anti-German rant!! It is nothing of the sort! You'd know, if you met me, that all the people who know me, know I am very pro Germany, its people and government!

It was merely the very strange coincidence!! Who would imagine that the two most unlikely people to become leaders have this in common? Especially as it is unusual for an American President, so I am told.

Actually I am in admiration for the Germans and Angela Merkel is extremely high in my regard!! If only she could come and help us out!!

(for some reason when I try to press caps for G it doesn't stay down! Sorry!)

I like the way she insists on speaking her mother tongue......or it could be a cunning plan to buy her that 2 second time delay before the translation reaches her.

You're very wordy Tillybelle ??

Yes Tillybell Mr. Johnson categorically stated that the U.K. will not set up any form of checks on the Irish Border. There are farms in the six counties that actually have fields in both sides of the border and sell milk across to border both ways. If the EU plan to put up the sort of road blocks that the IRA used in Armagh in the seventies the PSNI and the Guardi will remove them, just as they did back at the times of the troubles and 1916. Ireland has overcome much much worse problems many times before and while I have no doubt that sneaky politicians on all sides will try to gain points by scoring off each other, more intelligent Irish business people will find workable solutions as they have ever since the time of Cromwell.

Have the posters who were shocked to the core ( ! ) that Johnson lifted his foot up for a second now had time to watch the entire thing, and if so perhaps they now have time to admit they were far too hasty.
#won’tholdmybreath

Neilspurgeon0 There was a programme on BBC recently about the Irish border and the horrific events in its history. Irish business people may find workable solutions but let's hope that the cost in lives and tragedy is nothing like in the past. Unfortunately there is no indication that there will not be a return to the days of violence and only remaining in the EU could prevent this.

I was too hasty.
I didn't find it awfully funny though.

lemon I was never shocked just mildly surprised that Boris really can't manage to maintain a dignified appearance for more than a minute. I am wondering about what would have been said if Corbyn hd been pictured in a similar situation!!

It was a set up-do your homework before you comment.I thought it was the Leavers who didn't know anything!

Tillybelle...I think you will find that almost everyone on mumsnet does NOT vote Conservative, judging by their political comments, so you are entirely wrong in that respect, and how disrespectful is it to suggest you have to be a horrible person to vote for Boris.