Defenders called it nerves and jet lag, while others said Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras didn’t have a handle of English well enough to be on such a global platform as the Clinton Global Initiative stage on September 28, 2015 with a former U.S. President.
Detractors had a field day in Greece and beyond as Tsipras half-hour conversation with Clinton was the talk of the Greek internet. Tsipras was ridiculed for not knowing simple facts about his country.
Greek English-language daily newspaper Kathimerini called Tsipras’ presentation a “missed opportunity” in an editorial.
Other commentators weren’t so diplomatic. Numerous memes circulated the internet poking fun at Tsipras’ English skills and fumbled answers to Clinton’s questions.
Twitter wasn’t kind either, with a hashtag #agglika_tsipra (Tsiptas’ English) going viral during the town hall conversation and even trending #1 of all Clinton Global Initiative tweets during the meeting.
Videos of Tsipras attempting to answer in English were also spliced together and made their rounds on the internet.
The complete half hour talk between Clinton and Tsipras is here:
5 comments
Mr. Tsipras should have requested or brought along a translator to this interview. I don’t think that he hit on all the points that Mr. Clinton was asking about. It’s hard to think in one language and speak in another. Hopefully, he will get a second chance to put Greece and her future in a brighter light than what he did on this stage.
hopeless case pseudopolitician
I guess he was being honest… when Clinton asked about investors getting a good return on their investment he was laughing like an idiot cause this is a joke in Greece given then Government incompetence, laws, corruption, etc. etc. See the $1b investment of Eldorado Gold…
Aren’t you glad foreigners don’t pay any attention? Let alone real investors.
What is wrong with Alex Tsipras is he a Communist or does he not know how to respond to the American – “Clinton ” why does he not have an interpreter with him when he speaks with Americans. Does he not know what GREECE needs are & why doesn’t he reach out to the Americans for advise