Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign affairs chief, received a dubious honor Tuesday when Politico EU celebrated him with the “Borat award for diplomacy.”
The online media outlet granted the head diplomat the distinction for a series of gaffes that have made headlines since his ascension to the role in 2019. In February 2022, he announced Brussels would be sending fighter jets to Ukraine – a decision that wouldn’t ultimately be made until several months later.
He again drew ridicule in August this year after congratulating Ecuador for holding “peaceful elections” not long after the shocking assassination of one of the candidates.
“If there’s one thing Europeans have been able to count on from Josep Borrell since he became the EU’s foreign policy czar in late 2019, it’s that he never misses an opportunity to put his foot in his mouth” read the article.
Borrell’s arguably most controversial comment came in 2022 during a speech where he referred to the continent as a “garden” that must remain distinct from the “jungle” of the non-European world. The remarks were widely panned as racially disparaging, and Borrell later apologized.
Politico’s award is named after Borat, the comedic persona created by British actor Sacha Baron Cohen. Cohen imagined the character as a sexist satire of the culture of ex-Soviet states – to the exasperation of authorities in Kazakhstan, who shut down the online domain name he’d registered in the country.
Among the other anti-awards granted by the website were the “‘Lives of Others’ spying award” for Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the “best performance by a German pretending to be president of Europe” award for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The media outlet noted von der Leyen is often upstaged by Borrell and European Council President Charles Michel as she attempts to represent the economic bloc on the world stage. Von der Leyen seemed to be freelancing diplomacy during an October visit to Israel where she was criticized for demonstrating a more pro-Israel stance than what was agreed to by the bloc’s members.