A wet welcome in Warsaw as Sarkozy gets left out in the cold

This week saw the revival of the Weimar Triangle summit, a get-together of the Polish, French and German leaders "intended to promote co-operation" between the three countries.

It's an informal arrangement which allows a meeting of minds and an exchange of ideas between the leaders of three of the European Union's largest countries (in terms of population).

The event first took place in 1991 and was held regularly until 2006, when the late Polish president, Lech Kaczynski, put an end to them because he was upset at the way in which he was covered in the German media.

Monday's meeting in Warsaw was a chance for the Polish president, Bronisław Komorowski, to resuscitate the event by playing host, and also preparing the ground for Poland which will take over the six-month rotating presidency of the EU in July.

But somehow Komorowski's interpretation of "informal" seemed to go just a little too far as he committed a series of gaffes which left the Polish media amused with his apparent lack of "savoir faire" when it comes to diplomatic protocol.

First up as the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, arrived at the Wilanów palace to be met by their host, nobody really seemed to know who should enter first or where they should go.

Television news reports showed Sarkozy almost being left behind and then having to be pointed in the right direction by an attending official.



As the leaders stood on a podium in front of the palace with the flags of the three countries fluttering in the background while their respective national anthems were played, it became clear that someone has made a protocol faux pas as the position of the flags didn't correspond with that of the leaders.

But that was nothing, as far as the Polish media was concerned, to the embarrassment of seeing just one umbrella held up to protect the three leaders from the rain.

Because it didn't - shelter them that is. Merkel and Komorowski were covered, but Sarkozy was quite literally left out in the rain.

Merkel and Komorowski sheltered by an umbrella. Sarkozy left standing in the rain (screenshot from Polish television news report)

Interviewed on Polish television, Janusz Sibor, a specialist in diplomatic protocol, said quite clearly that each guest should have been provided with an umbrella, and if anyone had to get wet then it should been the host.

And it brought short shrift from a former head of diplomatic protocol, Jan Piekarski.

“To me, this is quite simply a lack of manners,” he is quoted as saying.

Out of the rain and into the palace, Komorowski once again showed his lack of social graces when he quite happily plonked himself down in a chair not waiting for either of the others to be seated.

"This again seems to me a break with protocol," said Sibor. "The order should be exactly the same as it is when seating guests at home for dinner. The host should show the others where to sit and then take his or her place last."

Amusement and embarrassment might well characterise the Polish media's coverage of what happened, but Sarkozy clearly didn't seem to be too put out and he even went as far as to praise Komorowski for his idea of inviting Russian president Dmitri Medvedev to the next meeting.

Perhaps though a word or two should be whispered in Komorowski's ear before Poland takes over that rotating EU presidency...along the lines of, "Mind you manners Mr President."