Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman sparked a major controversy when his photo of attempting to kiss his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock during a group photo session in Berlin went viral online.
In videos shared on social media, Radman can be seen extending his hand to greet Baerbock and then attempting to kiss her on the cheek, but she dodges his advance.
This incident took place after an EU conference in the city.
🇭🇷#Croatia's foreign minister tries to #kiss his #German counterpart at a #summit.https://t.co/cHt7WG53wJ pic.twitter.com/1EpCUslcRL
— Enigma Intel (@IntelEnigma) November 4, 2023
Criticism
Former Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor voiced her criticism of Radman on social media. She referred to the incident as a form of violence against women.
She wrote in Croatian, "Violent kissing of women is also called violence, is it not?"
In response to the incident, Radman expressed his confusion about the problem, stating, "I don't know what the problem was... We always greet each other warmly. It is a warm human approach to a colleague."
Croatian women's rights activist Rada Boric strongly condemned the minister's actions and described the incident as "highly inappropriate".
She emphasized that "warm greetings" should only occur between individuals whose relationship permits such physical contact.
Boric stated that it was evident such a relationship did not exist in this case and the German minister was taken aback by the unexpected closeness.
Notably, just a few months prior to this incident, Spain's soccer chief Luis Rubiales faced severe criticism for kissing player Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the Women's World Cup ceremony, an action she later expressed discomfort with.
Initially, Rubiales defended his actions and compared the kiss to what he might give one of his daughters.
However, he later issued a public apology and was subsequently suspended from his post by FIFA on August 27.
