UK PM Boris Johnson said, “We have to show them our pecs.”
Elmau Castle, Germany:
World leaders mocked Russian President Vladimir Putin’s tough image during a G-7 luncheon in Germany on Sunday, ridiculing whether he should take off his clothes or even less.
“Jacket on? Jacket off? Do we take our coats off?” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson asked as he sat down at the table at Bavaria’s picturesque Elmau Castle, where Chancellor Olaf Scholz was hosting the summit of the Seven Powerful Democracies.
The leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States and the European Union considered this dilemma.
Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, suggested they wait for an official photo before taking off their clothes, but then Boris Johnson quipped, “We have to show we’re tougher than Putin” and the joke went on.
“We’re going to get a bare-chested equestrian demonstration,” Trudeau said, referring to Putin’s infamous 2009 photo-op of him riding a horse shirtless.
“Equestrian riding is best,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, without explicitly weighing in on the clothing issue.
Boris Johnson intervened: “We have to show them our pecs.”
The leaders were photographed – jackets on – leaving the sartorial debate behind closed doors before the journalists were driven out of the room.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)