Let’s start at the end. An apology from Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic-Radman: He said he was only trying to warmly greet his colleague Annalena Baerbock and apologized if anyone was offended. The allegation circulating on social media and in the media is that he attempted to kiss the German Foreign Minister on the mouth without permission during the group photo at the interministerial conference on EU enlargement in Berlin on November 2nd.
In the video, Grlic-Radman can be seen shaking Baerbock’s hand and then closing the distance to kiss her, not necessarily on the mouth. “Bild” reports that the Croatian foreign minister arrived late for the photo shoot, all the other ministers had already greeted each other (kiss on the left, kiss on the right) and those around Baerbock said it was a clumsy attempt to say goodbye quickly. However, the image of Baerbock in trouble remains unmistakable.
Croatian media spoke of an “embarrassing moment” and women’s rights activists accused Grlic-Radman of disrespect. The memory of the scandal surrounding the former president of the Spanish Football Association, Luis Rubiales, because he illicitly kissed national team player Jenni Hermoso during the celebrations for winning the World Cup is still fresh.
The Zagreb newspaper “Jutarnji list” wrote that the German minister was “obviously uncomfortable”. On social media, many Croatian users reacted with outrage to the minister’s behavior. The women’s rights activist Rada Boric spoke of a “completely inappropriate gesture”. MP Ivana Kekin (New Left) said Grlic-Radman had disgraced not only himself but all Croats. Criticism also came from former Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor. However, Minister Baerbock did not comment on the incident.