Boris Johnson elicited sympathy from netizens, “embarrassed” for the UK Prime Minister, as a short video of EU leaders gathering for a NATO “family photo” made the rounds on the internet.
A clip of the meeting showed a smiling French President Emmanuel Macron shaking hands with other EU leaders just a few feet from Boris Johnson, who appeared to look around awkwardly, his hands in his pockets.
Some social media users quipped that the British PM was an “embarrassment,” while others suggested the appeared “snub” showed what world leaders think of “global Britain.”
Previously, Johnson and Macron have failed to see eye to eye on a range of policy issues. Thus, the UK Prime Minister told his French counterpart last September to “donnez-moi un break” in response to Paris’s anger over the AUKUS-botched sub deal. The diplomatic row was triggered by Canberra’s decision to cancel the multi-billion diesel-electric submarine deal with Paris in the wake of AUKUS three-way alliance formation.
Meanwhile, in December it was reported that Macron referred to Johnson as a “clown” in private conversation.
Another user on Twitter has dubbed Boris Johnson’s look in the clip “Mr Lonely,” adding, “I loved his wave at the end when the hospitality trolley arrived with the sausage rolls.”
Others on Twitter wrote the incident called for some appropriate “tear-jerker” music accompaniment.
Still other social media users believed that the entire video would show “who’s having an awkward moment.”