SM Krishna reads Portuguese minister's speech at UN Read more: SM Krishna reads Port

[Evil Flare]

WASHINGTON: The flub, in the eyes of Indian officialdom, was minor; but the feedback was ferocious.

India's external affairs minister SM Krishna, frequently under attack for not being up to speed in 21st century engagements, gave some more ammunition to his critics by inadvertently reading out the speech of the Portuguese foreign minister at a UN meeting on Friday. He cottoned on to the mistakes a couple of minutes into his delivery, but the faux pas rippled through the electronic world for hours, inviting both sarcasm and merriment.

"Maybe Portugal has outsourced its speech to Bangalore," read one message on social networking site. "Look at the bright side. We can now lay claim to Cristiano Ronaldo," tweeted another, referring to the classy Portuguese footballer. A third wondered if SM Krishna should meet the same fate as his Pakistani counterpart SM Qureshi, who was sidelined in a cabinet reshuffle on Thursday. "A mistake? Why do we have a mistake like him in the government," riffed another.

Krishna's aides said the reactions were harsh because the flub was inadvertent and "could have happened to anyone." They also maintained the minister caught on to the error within a few lines of the speech consisting mainly of opening pleasantries, and he did not read on for five minutes as reported in some sections of the media. "You guys must be having a slow news day on Saturday to make such a big deal out of this," one aide said snarkily.

But those who heard the speech said Krishna was well past the pleasantries and generalities when he was stopped by Hardeep Puri, India's Permanent Representative to the UN One of the lines Krishna read was, "On a more personal note, allow me to express my profound satisfaction regarding the happy coincidence of having two members of the Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), Brazil and Portugal, together here today."

One reason the flub went undetected for some time, according to sources, was that the Portuguese foreign minister had already finished speaking and the English translation of his speech which was distributed got mixed up with Krishna's papers. While there was no immediate assignation of blame among officials, critics contended it was an embarrassment at a time India is pitching for a permanent UNSC seat.

It's not the first time a major public figure has read the wrong speech. The last prominent victim of such a gaffe? US President Barack Obama, who began reading the speech of the Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen in 2009 after the teleprompter mixed up their speeches. Obama realized the blunder when he started to thank himself.

But the Indian e-world was unsparing even though the faux pas wasn't even a minor blip at the UN, where the G-4 push for an expanded UNSC made headlines. "Next time he should write his speech in Kannada," one tweeter advised Krishna, who studied in Dallas and Washington DC. "Why couldn't he at least find the speech of the Italian foreign minister," joked another.

While Krishna, who is 78, has been pilloried by critics for what they say is his stodginess, his aides point out that he keeps a blistering pace unmatched by any of his predecessors for a man of his age – a common argument from supporters of a geriatric political leadership in youthful India. Many of India's Union Cabinet principals, including the Prime Minister and the finance minister, are in their late 70s.

Read more: SM Krishna reads Portuguese minister's speech at UN - The Times of India SM Krishna reads Portuguese minister's speech at UN - The Times of India




I can't stop laughing ..

 

[ephone]

Is that possible?

I thought Portuguese minister should have his speech prepared in Portuguese.

Or the indian minister is multi-talented that he can read Portuguese as well?

WASHINGTON: The flub, in the eyes of Indian officialdom, was minor; but the feedback was ferocious.

India's external affairs minister SM Krishna, frequently under attack for not being up to speed in 21st century engagements, gave some more ammunition to his critics by inadvertently reading out the speech of the Portuguese foreign minister at a UN meeting on Friday. He cottoned on to the mistakes a couple of minutes into his delivery, but the faux pas rippled through the electronic world for hours, inviting both sarcasm and merriment.

"Maybe Portugal has outsourced its speech to Bangalore," read one message on social networking site. "Look at the bright side. We can now lay claim to Cristiano Ronaldo," tweeted another, referring to the classy Portuguese footballer. A third wondered if SM Krishna should meet the same fate as his Pakistani counterpart SM Qureshi, who was sidelined in a cabinet reshuffle on Thursday. "A mistake? Why do we have a mistake like him in the government," riffed another.

Krishna's aides said the reactions were harsh because the flub was inadvertent and "could have happened to anyone." They also maintained the minister caught on to the error within a few lines of the speech consisting mainly of opening pleasantries, and he did not read on for five minutes as reported in some sections of the media. "You guys must be having a slow news day on Saturday to make such a big deal out of this," one aide said snarkily.

But those who heard the speech said Krishna was well past the pleasantries and generalities when he was stopped by Hardeep Puri, India's Permanent Representative to the UN One of the lines Krishna read was, "On a more personal note, allow me to express my profound satisfaction regarding the happy coincidence of having two members of the Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), Brazil and Portugal, together here today."

One reason the flub went undetected for some time, according to sources, was that the Portuguese foreign minister had already finished speaking and the English translation of his speech which was distributed got mixed up with Krishna's papers. While there was no immediate assignation of blame among officials, critics contended it was an embarrassment at a time India is pitching for a permanent UNSC seat.

It's not the first time a major public figure has read the wrong speech. The last prominent victim of such a gaffe? US President Barack Obama, who began reading the speech of the Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen in 2009 after the teleprompter mixed up their speeches. Obama realized the blunder when he started to thank himself.

But the Indian e-world was unsparing even though the faux pas wasn't even a minor blip at the UN, where the G-4 push for an expanded UNSC made headlines. "Next time he should write his speech in Kannada," one tweeter advised Krishna, who studied in Dallas and Washington DC. "Why couldn't he at least find the speech of the Italian foreign minister," joked another.

While Krishna, who is 78, has been pilloried by critics for what they say is his stodginess, his aides point out that he keeps a blistering pace unmatched by any of his predecessors for a man of his age – a common argument from supporters of a geriatric political leadership in youthful India. Many of India's Union Cabinet principals, including the Prime Minister and the finance minister, are in their late 70s.

Read more: SM Krishna reads Portuguese minister's speech at UN - The Times of India SM Krishna reads Portuguese minister's speech at UN - The Times of India




I can't stop laughing ..

 

[krash]

The Portuguese speach would have been in Portuguese but all the members in the house are given english translations of that and that is what the minister mistakenly read. No big deal just a mistake cudv happened to anyone. But its funny nonetheless

 

[ajtr]

MEA culpa Krishna reads out the wrong speech at UNSC - Mumbai Mirror

External Affairs Minister SM Krishna has become rage on Twitter after he inadvertently read out the wrong speech at a UN Security Council meeting.

On Friday night (US time), the minister was caught in a public gaffe when he, while speaking at the United Nations Security Council on a debate on security and development, read out Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado's speech for about five minutes before being corrected by India's envoy to the UN, Hardeep Singh Puri.

Despite MEA’s efforts to gag the media, the social networking sites are not letting Krishna get away easily. While one Tweet - by @sudvoleti - says, “It was the best ever speech he ever made,” another one - by @sahasgulati - says, “Hahaha! Epic comedy this”.

However, not everyone is cracked up by the incident. A more serious Tweet by @javedrashid – says, “S M Krishna was pushing for security council reforms in UN. But after his act the urgent need is to push for Indian cabinet reforms.”

External Affairs Minister S M Krishna minutes after he read out thePortuguese foreign minister’s speech instead of his own

Krishna didn’t realise his error even when he read out, “On a more personal note, allow me to express my profound satisfaction regarding the happy coincidence of having two members of the Portuguese Speaking Countries, Brazil and Portugal, together here today.”

In his defence, he didn’t find anything amiss in this reference because Brazil holds the current presidency of the Security Council. But in another “happy coincidence” - if we may call it that – the exact words were spoken by his Portuguese counterpart a few minutes earlier.

After five minutes, when Krishna - who continued to look as thoughtful as ever - said, “The EU is also responding in this manner in coordination with the United Nations,” Puri, Indian’s envoy, intervened. “You can start again,” Puri politely told Krishna.

MEA Clarifies

Krishna’s faux pas has completely knocked out the mandarins of South Block. Explaining the gaffe, Krishna’s ministry said the initial parts of all formal addresses at the UN contain similar references and that he made substantive remarks from his prepared text.

Putting the blame squarely on the UN Secretariat’s shoulders, MEA officials pointed out that all prepared texts of speeches are handed to the UN Secretariat beforehand for circulation among audience.

“It is possible that there was a mix-up when copies were being prepared for delivery,” said an MEA source.

Speaking to Mirror from the US, Krishna's officer-on-special-duty Raghvendra Shastry said, “The error occured inadavertently.

Copy of the Portugese minister's speech was handed to Krishna by a UN official. It happened just before Krishna was about to deliver his speech.”

Diplomats, however, find the explanation laughable. “The minister must have gone throught the text at least once.

It is difficult to believe that he went on reading the text for five minutes till it was pointed out to him that it was a wrong speech,” said a diplomat.

 

[ajtr]

And its not the first time that EAM S.M. Krishna has read out the wrong speech.As India Today reports that he has delivered the wrong speech on two earlier occasions also.

MINISTER'S SLIP ONE TOO MANY

During a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi in Islamabad last July, S. M. Krishna reportedly read out from the background note. The note was meant to help him prepare for the meeting and was not part of the formal speech.

Krishna again committed a faux pas last year when a European Union dignitary was on a visit to India. He read the personal instructions meant for him, which are usually put in third person in brackets in the speech prepared by the ministry officials.

Krishna hits a Portugese note in UNSC speech

 

[ajtr]

 

[Ammyy]

this is just a human error some **** cant understand that ..... they just need bahana

 

[twoplustwoisfour]

this is just a human error some **** cant understand that ..... they just need bahana

With all due respect, picking up a speech and realizing after a few moments that it's the wrong one is human error.

Reading aloud a speech for 5 mins before realizing that it's the wrong one point to severe lack of control on one's faculties.

 

[Roybot]

With all due respect, picking up a speech and realizing after a few moments that it's the wrong one is human error.

Reading aloud a speech for 5 mins before realizing that it's the wrong one point to severe lack of control on one's faculties.

Not really, if you hear any of these speeches, the first few minutes is basically addressing the people present and is rather generic.

Krishna's aides said the reactions were harsh because the flub was inadvertent and "could have happened to anyone." They also maintained the minister caught on to the error within a few lines of the speech consisting mainly of opening pleasantries, and he did not read on for five minutes as reported in some sections of the media. "You guys must be having a slow news day on Saturday to make such a big deal out of this," one aide said snarkily.

It's not the first time a major public figure has read the wrong speech. The last prominent victim of such a gaffe? US President Barack Obama, who began reading the speech of the Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen in 2009 after the teleprompter mixed up their speeches. Obama realized the blunder when he started to thank himself.

So no biggy. Sh*t happens.

 

[desioptimist]

Lol, really funny.
No, he is fine as foreign minister. one or two gaffes do not matter. He is not as good as Bush though.

 

[ajtr]

this is just a human error some **** cant understand that ..... they just need bahana

1st time it can be called human error.
2nd time doing same mistake can be called absent mindedness
3rd time repeating same mistake makes one point clear that person has no mind itself to learn from previous mistakes.


And this is the 3rd time SM krishna has repeated such a mistake ....see post#5 as india today has reported it.

 

[desioptimist]

1st time it can be called human error.
2nd time doing same mistake can be called absent mindedness
3rd time repeating same mistake makes one point clear that person has no mind itself to learn from previous mistakes.


And this is the 3rd time SM krishna has repeated such a mistake ....see post#5 as india today has reported it.

Oh man, dont be so harsh on him. Judge him by his performance not speeches.

 

[HongWu]

Self-styled "candidate" for permanent member of UN Security Council Indian government read the wrong speech at a UN Security Council meeting. Indian Foreign Minister read three paragraphs of the speech of Portuguese Foreign Minister before realizing it was meant for Portugal not India

Krishna was scheduled to speak after his Portuguese counterpart Luis Amado at a session on Friday on 'Maintenance of International Peace and Security: Interdependence between Security and Development'. Portugal has also been elected to the UNSC for a two- year period.

As soon as the minister started speaking, almost everyone present realised that he was reading from Amado's speech, as a few lines were out of place. Krishna apparently did not realise his mistake and went on.

"On a more personal note, allow me to express my profound satisfaction regarding the happy coincidence of having two members of the Portuguese Speaking Countries, Brazil and Portugal, together here today," the minister said as a horrified Indian contingent watched. "The European Union is also responding in this manner in coordination with the United Nations."

It was after three minutes that India's permanent representative to the UN, Hardeep Puri, intervened and asked him to start afresh.

Krishna hits a Portugese note in UNSC speech : Mail Today Stories: India Today

Even worse..... Portugal had already spoken before India. So Krishna was actually repeating a speech made already at the same meeting!

http://blogs.reuters.com/afghanistan/2011/02/13/indias-best-and-brightest-at-the-un/

Just like the commonwealth games, "Shining India" is always humiliated by its inferior performance in every field of human achievement imaginable. India is like the Homer Simpson in the family of nations!

 

[The HBS Guy]

^^ Seriously? Is that the best you can do?

It was a human error. What's the fuss?

 

[Paan Singh]

hahhaa
its hongwu