Conference in Berlin
“Unpleasant moment”: Croatian Foreign Minister apologizes for kiss attack on Annalena Baerbock
Quickly turned away: Gordan Grlic Radman’s attempt at greeting Annalena Baerbock was very clumsy
© John MacDougall / AFP
Croatian incumbent Gordan Grlic Radman tried to kiss his German colleague Annalena Baerbock. The scene at the meeting of European foreign ministers caused outrage. Now the 65-year-old has apologized.
A kiss attack by Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman on Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) caused outrage and triggered harsh criticism, especially in Grlic Radman’s homeland. The 65-year-old tried to kiss Baerbock on Thursday during a group photo on the sidelines of a conference of European foreign ministers in Berlin. Video footage circulating online shows Grlic Radman first extending his hand to greet Baerbock, but then suddenly leaning in for a kiss. The Federal Foreign Minister quickly turns her head away to avoid the kiss.
Grlic Radman has now apologized for the incident. He was not immediately aware that he might have embarrassed his German counterpart with the friendly gesture. “Maybe it was an unpleasant moment,” Radman said, according to Croatian media. “If anyone saw anything bad in that, then I apologize to whoever took it that way.”
Kiss for Annalena Baerbock: Gordan Grlic Radman initially downplayed the incident
Because his plane was late, he only saw Baerbock during the “family photo” with all his EU colleagues, Radman continued. “I don’t know what the problem was. I didn’t see it; I wasn’t aware of it. We always greet each other warmly. It’s a warm human interaction between colleagues.”
In Croatia, Grlic Radman’s actions were viewed much more critically. Among other things, he is accused on social networks of publicly embarrassing a German government politician and embarrassing his country. Grlic Radman’s behavior was “highly inappropriate,” women’s rights activist Rada Boric told the newspaper “Jutarnij List” on Friday. The video shows “clearly that there is no such relationship here and that the minister was surprised by such an approach.” Former Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor wrote on the online service X, formerly Twitter: “Forcible kissing of women is also called violence, isn’t it?”
Annalena Baerbock herself has not yet commented on the incident.