He's got a hard job alright
We’ve all been there. It’s your first trip to China as Foreign Secretary, you’re meeting with the Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and you’re desperate as hell to initiate some small talk.
Whilst your predecessor was known for his charm and quips as much as his
private phone calls with fascists, you’re more at home quietly dismantling the NHS than you are charming foreign dignitaries.
So spare a thought for Jeremy Hunt who today found himself in those exact circumstances.
https://twitter.com/BBCNews/status/1023850433687605248
"My wife is Japanese," Hunt offered as his opening gambit, before remembering that
his wife of nine years is Chinese. "My wife is
Chinese," he quickly added. "That’s a terrible mistake to make."
But is it, Jeremy? Is it that bad? An
honest mistake is what it was. I’d challenge anyone to successfully remember their wife’s nationality when they’ve been so busy running the NHS into the ground.
Sure, some will get a couple of laughs out of your mistake, but in the best case scenario, you would have got your wife’s nationality right, and the Chinese delegation would have thrown their hands up in celebration, before announcing via an interpreter: “WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY SO? WE WOULD’VE SIGNED THOSE TRADE DEALS MUCH SOONER!”
https://twitter.com/JohnCleese/status/1023883163481894914
Perhaps this is a sign of things to come. Perhaps we’ll see Hunt helping to sell British goods to Argentina, for example, by telling the Argentinian president how much he admires Neymar Jr. Or perhaps we could build stronger ties with Norway because the Foreign Office is decked out in IKEA furniture.
This is anecdote diplomacy. Welcome to the future.
