SOFAGATE

Ursula von der Leyen, the European commission’s first female president, was left standing during a high-level meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan: there was no chair for her.

Her two male counterparts, Erdogan and Charles Michel, president of the European Council, took the two chairs. Von der Leyen had to take a seat on a nearby sofa which is a serious breach of protocol. Michel is of equivalent rank to von der Leyen. Nevertheless, he sat next to Erdogan and did not offer his chair.

The whole situation is a snub for Ursula von der Leyen, the EU, and women in general. This caused a social media stir. But everybody was not outraged. Consider this comment:

She did not even belong in the room of the meeting. She will soon be a has-been without a Union to depend on. She is a complete waste of money for her salary. Not elected by the people of the EU but appointed by the elites. Source 

snub [snʌb] пренебрежительное отношение

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