Boris manspreading!!

Tillybelle, I agree with you totally.

When Boris Johnson put his foot on Emmanuel Macron’s table, it was like a Rorschach test. People saw what they wanted to see. Leavers congratulated the PM for sticking it to the French; Remainers were appalled: “It just shows a complete arrogance and disrespect,” said Alastair Campbell.
“Fake news!” as Donald Trump might shout.
It actually showed two men sharing a joke.
Here’s what happened. Johnson and Macron were sitting in the Élysée Palace, a stunning 18th-century building that for some reason has been stuffed with furniture that looks stolen from a budget hotel. The two men were confronted with a table – squat, ugly, green. “It could be a footstool”, said Macron. “You could put your foot on it.”
So Boris did. Cameras flashed
Many assumed the Prime Minister was being rude; in fact, he was responding to a joke
But oh the pearl clutching it has generated
Much Ado About Nothing

MawB This has been explained several times on this thread but it seems some posters choose to ignore it. I am no fan of Johnson but the over-reaction to this is a complete farce.

GabriellaG54. Apologies if that bothers you. Didn't mean it to.

Neilspurgeon0. Many thanks for answering my question and taking me sincerely. I'm truly grateful for your very helpful reply. I don't understand how by refusing a backstop Boris can prevent a hard border. I'm not trying to be clever, I am just saying I don't understand. Thanks again, it's so good when we can ask each other things and get answers that are filled with facts and are courteous!

quizqueen, I have been doing some homework on the 3 serving police officers you state were killed by people not originating from the UK.

Unfortunately, in spite of my studies, I can't actually find any information.

Take your point Beckett - I was just trying to draw a line under the furore apparently occasioned by a non- story!
_________________________________________

You can explain it away as much as you like the fact is Boris fell for a Macron comment that led him to being photographed in a highly undignified position. Now if he was trying to bond in some way with Macron, trying to show he has a sense of humour or it was simply the usual Boris blunder I don't know. What I do know is that if this is an example of his negotiating skills it doesn't bode well for the promised new deal.

Sighs. Do people honestly believe that Macron set this up? What strange minds some people have.

quizqueen

It is you who is entirely wrong! I never mentioned conservative voting in respect of mumsnet. How on earth did you make that leap?

In fact you have done what the people on the thread I was asked to see were doing: You did not read what was actually written and jumped to your completely wrong conclusion.
You then went ahead to slate me for somethingI had not said!

How on earth do you get to saying "I think you will find that almost everyone on mumsnet does NOT vote Conservative,"
and that am "entirely wrong in that respect," when I did not even say anything about how Mumsnetters vote or about their politics?

You are jumping to some very strange conclusion!!

Just as you made your own conclusion when you said; " and how disrespectful is it to suggest you have to be a horrible person to vote for Boris."

I simply listed the some of the things we know about Johnson. It was you who jumped to the conclusion that, knowing he behaves in those ways, you have to be a horrible person to vote for him!! You made that idea up yourself. On your own. I did not say it. I just listed the facts.

Dyffryn. Thank you.

trisher
Thanks, I will look for the programme. I agree, it really frightens me.

It isn't a question of a "set up"Minniemoo but of two men meeting in what is supposed to be a dignified and statesman-like serious discussion. One of them makes an off-the-cuff remark about the tables and the other one behaves like a schoolboy set a dare and does what he suggests. Who comes out best from this encounter?

Minniemoo I honestly don't know Minniemoo (I had to say your name again - it's just so appealing!) I suppose the thing is that, whatever way, Boris "emborissed" himself and jumped in to try the table as a footstool, making himself look less than elegant and statesmanlike, and 'click' went the camera.

I do know that lots of advisers are around these Leaders and they look at more aspects of the meeting than the subject matter of the details of our EU exit. They do advise things like appearance and body language. It's aiming for a comparative look where one comes across as dignified, helpful and in control and tries to make the other look, well, the opposite.

The number of times one touches another, (pats on the back, guides them along when walking...) for example, denotes who is superior. The people who have this off pat are the Americans. The George W Bush people had him shaking hands, patting backs/shoulders putting his arm arm round Putin to guide him along... I suppose it was necessary to try and mitigate what came out of his mouth!

Lessismore
Please don't feel you have to apologise for setting up this thread!

It is hugely successful thread! Look - we are on page 5! How often does Gnet do that?

I for one, am very grateful for having had the opportunity to learn a lot about what is going on, simply by asking a question, and by thinking about this meeting. It is a credit to you in bringing this to our attention. Nobody has the right to try to abruptly attenuate the discussion until everyone has naturally exhausted all they have to say.

I would like to add that the way our Prime Minister appears in the press and when with other Leaders, is of great importance. The respect he engenders for him in the Leaders in the EU is vital to their agreeing to a deal which will safeguard our interests in leaving.

It's a very simple really.

This was a thread set up to attack an individual who is disliked hoping to gain likewise opinions of that person's behaviour. Which inevitably it did.

The fact is the joke is on those who chose to see what the Guardian newspaper had printed to use as it's own attempt to belittle the individual. The ' CONTEXT' as always didn't matter, the facts only get in the way when it gives some people the opportunity to attack that individual.

The photo was neither here nor here really it was the starting gun, the apparatus for those who attack the individual at every opportunity to vent their opinions which they did vociferously :-

Loutish behaviour
Disgusting rude, arrogant, uncouth.
A Turd of the first order
Rude, juvenile
A liar, cheat, philanderer, entitled, old boys network buffoon, a complete prat.
Narcissistic oaf.
Silly dupe.
Boorish, ill-behaved,Ghastly man.
Boorish and uncouth.
Extremely rude, and a disgrace to Britain,
A prat
lA lout

There is nothing new in a story or photo being twisted, taken out of context , there is nothing knew in the name calling of particular individuals, there is nothing knew in the kangaroo court / band wagon style of ' don't let facts get in your way' , there is nothing knew full stop.

It's the same old, same old tried and tested ploy to discredit individuals that have become hated by many but dear lord a bloody footstool, ' really'!

Tillybelle - Having read through all 5 pages of these posts now, I think each of your comments was on the nail, and I agree entirely with what you say.

We too are saddened and - yes occasionally morose - about what has and is happening to debate and conversations in the UK. But, reading up on the facts and evidence - of which there is plenty now - shows just how little we were kept informed before 2016 by our politicians and the media in particular.

There seems now so much to do, and so little time to do it. The idea that ' a new deal' or even a revision of the already agreed deal can be done in the next few weeks seems far fetched.

The OP did seem to result in a very black & white view of what Boris' clumsy response in full view of the press could be taken to mean, or how his behaviour reflected on the entire country. In some ways it reminded me of that ludicrous claim about the EU forcing us to have straight bananas, or not being able to run steam trains, because coal would be banned!

Ah well, I wonder what will happen if UK train drivers on freight trains through the Channel Tunnel are required to stop and change crews at Folkestone, because their licences are not recognised at the other end of the tunnel. (Yes, there is or was a concern about that!)

Thanks for your interesting posts.

I think one issue that both May and Johnson have taken on themselves, is the tried and trusted 'divide and conquer' rule - irrespective of how statesmanlike or boorish their behaviours.

Like May, Johnson's little trip to Berlin and Paris, was and is just another example of that - clearly trying to persuade the larger economies to influence - or in management speak, to bully the smaller economies.

I rather doubt that this tactic will work in the long run.

Oh *POGS! There is nothing new in a story or photo being twisted, taken out of context , there is nothing knew in the name calling of particular individuals, there is nothing knew in the kangaroo court / band wagon style of ' don't let facts get in your way' , there is nothing knew full stop
Howmany times has this been done by the Corbyn bashers on GN.?
Boris has a history of doing stupid things and he keeps getting caught doing them.

Ah! I can add to the accusations of rudeness.

Some of the things said to or about the following people

Putin: Dobby the house elf
Erdogan: wankerer.
Various US presidents: crossed eyed a Texan, part Keynian, would avoid NY for fear of seeing Trump
Hilary Clinton: sadistic nurse
The French: turds
Papua New Guinea: cannibalism, chief killing
People of the Congo: watermelon smiles

GN has a long way to go to catch up with Johnson. And of course the many lies for which he has been sacked and disgraced.

This was a thread set up to attack an individual who is disliked hoping to gain likewise opinions of that person's behaviour. Which inevitably it did

er no, this was a thread set up because I clicked on the Guardian and saw a picture. How on earth do you know what's going on in other peoples heads?

Also POGS, dear lordy a milkshake....really?

I’m very grateful to be filled in with the backstory (or context) of said photograph, but can’t think why it had to be explained so many times

It's because those who cannot accept criticism of Boris continue to believe that anyone who regards the photo situation as a major gaffe is too thick to understand what happened. The concept that regardless of the back-story the position was not a dignified one for a PM is so unacceptable to them.

Hmm, I think it’s more likely that many people cba to read the whole thread!

Although I have to confess I did skip one or two mini dissertations

MawB ......I think you may have to explain this non story to a few GNers on here.....they still haven’t ‘got it’ even though they pretend they have.They fondly imagine it’s a set up by Macron, what nonsense.