Forum Topic

Xavier Bettel ~ Extraordinary Outburst!

Just been listening to the Luxembourg President having a hissy fit and laying down the law at the press conference in Brussels. Group of very raucous ex-pat Remainers getting in on the act too. Boris had already requested that the press conference should be held inside the building because of the noise but that was ignored, he declined to take part and left. Good on Boris.

Sue Hammond ● 2613d30 Comments

Not such a big brave Incredible Hulk then lol!

Richard Carter ● 2613d

*Group of very raucous ex-pat Remainers*Take your selfish blinkers off Sue and acquaint yourself with why these expats are being raucous. I've avoided the Guardian as I know how sensitive you are to articles being quoted from it.https://www.blacktowerfm.com/news/459-finance-spain-pressure-on-the-nhshttps://www.cer.eu/in-the-press/no-deal-brexit-spells-trouble-british-expats-europehttps://www.expatnetwork.com/exits-expats-brexit-affects/ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-46841041

Lucille Grant ● 2613d

Again, shows that we are a laughing stock as a country... The mighty Boris was too chicken to face them, surely his comments about that being Corbyn's role will come back to haunt him.

Ben Rainbow ● 2613d

@RichardBoris wasn't prepared to shout over the organised protest. Don't blame him. The EU humiliated May on numerous occasions so Boris gave them a bit of their own medicine. Bettel was humiliated and angry because he had to stand next to an empty podium and he lost it. Diddums

Sue Hammond ● 2613d

There was no "extraordinary outburst" from Bettel: just a calm demolition of Johnson's empty bluster. As Ben says, the UK is (yet again) shown up as a pathetic laughing stock in the eyes of the world.

Richard Carter ● 2613d

just watched it, he didnt look humiliated at all, made a point of empty-chairing the 'hulk' lol

Matt Palmer ● 2613d

"The mighty Boris was too chicken to face them, surely his comments about that being Corbyn's role will come back to haunt him."Doubt it. Johnson remains like Teflon for a large part of this country's population. Nothing sticks. Yet.Corbyn is more like Velcro.

David Ainsworth ● 2613d

Very good...

Ben Rainbow ● 2613d

The incredible Sulk!

Matt Palmer ● 2613d

Most accurate comparisons David.

Lucille Grant ● 2613d

Johnson is just showing how much of a sad, public school, bully he is. The sad think is, we should be deferring Brexit  and discussion without EU partners the pending disaster that Trump is cultivating in the middle east, and accelerating the development of renewables to avoid our dependency on such an unstable source ...

Michael Ixer ● 2613d

Michael Ixer ● 2613d

Michael Ixer ● 2613d

Ha ha ha!!!  Fantastic Michael, really made me laugh a lot! Thank you!

Ivonne Holliday ● 2613d

Sadly, I think that we have reached the end of our rope."And as Bettel’s exasperation made clear, officials in Brussels, and leaders in national capitals, are running out of patience. Hopes that Britain might eventually give Brexit up as a bad job and remain in the EU are giving way to prayers that it won’t.Many now dread the prospect, remote as it may seem, of a second referendum. “Why on earth would you want a country so bitterly and hopelessly divided to stay?” asked one diplomat. “The wounds are going to last generations. How damaging would that be to Europe? Come back, maybe – but leave and sort things out first.”" https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/sep/16/bettels-anger-highlights-a-bleak-truth-the-eu27-just-wants-britain-to-go

David Ainsworth ● 2613d

I understand the reason the press conference wasn't held inside was because there wasn't room to accommodate all the journalists invited inside, so either Johnson had to face the angry expats, the conference was cancelled, or it went ahead with just the Luxembourg President. Well, there'd be dangers in filtering journalists, so I suspect that the least worst option was to continue without Johnson; I suspect like the rest of us he was just frustrated with Johnsons lack of ideas and meaningless statements, where is his alternative to the backstop? Or is he just planning to break the GFA?

Michael Ixer ● 2613d

Regrettably Michael, I think the GFA is of no importance to Boris Johnson.

Ivonne Holliday ● 2613d

On a point of detail that I'd not noticed before; Xavier Bettel is Luxembourg's Prime Minister, not President. 

Michael Ixer ● 2612d

Now I've seen photos from the press conference Luxembourg yesterday, I can quite see why Johnson was so frightened he had no choice but to run away: this rabid mob of vicious demonstrators was clearly set on the most terrifying violence!

Richard Carter ● 2612d

I forgot to add the source of the photograph: it was https://cdn.hssmedia.fi/Newsmedia/2019/09/16/480/crop_LK_LKAFPC20190916163103MMAQ_SLGR46EJ0.jpg

Richard Carter ● 2612d

@ Mike@MichaelDoh silly me!🙄 Thankyou for the correction Mike. I probably assumed Bettel was President because he was acting like one.  Actually I found it quite funny watching a man who governs a country with a population considerably less than Birmingham, ranting and raving about our great country and Brexit. He sounded a bit unhinged at times. 😳 However it probably made him feel very important and he milked his 15 minutes of fame for all it was worth. I hope he has another megalomaniacal meltdown and vetos a Brexit extension if Boris is forced to ask for one.

Sue Hammond ● 2612d

Luxemburg is small in terms of geographical area and population but it is significant in terms of banking and finance ... I'm not sure how his outburst will be viewed by his fellow EU leaders who've obviously been trying to keep their exasperation with Johnson's games under wraps - Varadkars speech was more clever I thought as he put his views forward clearly and plainly but calmly while Johnson had to stand and listen to things he obviously disliked - and Juncker's comments after his meeting with Johnson seem to have been lost in the wake of Bettel's speech to an empty podium. However, the empty podium and Bettel's outburst probably reflect the truth of the situation: the current government's lack of ideas and the EU's loss of patience with the current rabble running the UK? 

Michael Ixer ● 2612d

And a reference to Luxembourg's banking sector:https://www.pwc.lu/en/banking.html

Michael Ixer ● 2612d

Bats above it’s weight in - money launderinghttps://www.internationalinvestment.net/news/4003068/luxembourg-readies-anti-money-laundering-review-hitting-indicators- vat fraudhttps://delano.lu/d/detail/news/investigation-luxembourg-and-vat-fraud/205476Of course they have friends in sleazy places - what a beacon of “European values” they are...https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jan/01/jean-claude-juncker-blocked-eu-curbs-on-tax-avoidance-cables-show

Mike Warman ● 2612d

Meanwhile, remember when Johnson urged the Conservative party conference two years ago to let the British lion roar? All it managed yesterday, in Johnson's incapable hands, was a pathetic whimper.

Richard Carter ● 2612d

Backfired on Boorish Bettel?"In a hint that he might regret his actions, Mr Bettel tweeted after the clash with Mr Johnson that Luxembourg would 'remain the UK's partner and friend'. He posted photos of himself greeting Mr Johnson, but not pictures of the empty podium. A key ally of Mrs Merkel warned that the 'public venting' by Mr Bettel had backfired.Senior German MP Norbert Rottgen tweeted: 'Xavier #Bettel’s speech yesterday did not serve the #European cause. 'His public venting ignored that a #deal is still in everyone’s interest. 'Even without a deal there will be a post-#Brexit life, which means that right now everyone needs to behave in a way that avoids animosity.' Tory MPs from both Remain and Brexit wings voiced anger at the Mr Johnson's treatment.Former Cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith said leaders had a duty to show 'courtesy and civility', and pointed out that Luxembourg was liberated by Allied forces.'The irony is that Luxembourg was saved by Britain. National leaders should always treat one another with courtesy and civility. Good ones do,' he told the Telegraph."https://mol.im/a/7472525

Sue Hammond ● 2612d

This is from the Torygraph and the Barclay brothers who own it, for whom Boris can do no wrong (where Europe is concerned). Some  balance with your moans about Richard posting from the Guardian Sue. (Not)

Lucille Grant ● 2612d

All opinions are valid Lucille.  Knowing how much Richard scours the Guardian for things to c&p I was waiting for him to start a thread about its disgusting slur against Cameron, but he didn't. Strange that he missed it.🤔 So I did it for him.😌

Sue Hammond ● 2612d

Luxembourg was liberated by the American army.But when did a Brexiteer:1) ever bother to check their facts2) not find a reason to hark back the WW2

Matt Palmer ● 2612d

The liberation of Europe was a joint effort by the allied forces of America, Britain and Russia.

Sue Hammond ● 2612d