Borrell lowers tone, again
Josep Borrell continues to embarrass Spain, walking out of an interview, then returning, then calling the interviewer a “liar” and “an ignorant”
Spain’s Foreign Minister, Josep Borrell, lost his cool, again, as he was asked about the Catalan conflict and constitutional reform, in a tense interview, on the “Conflict Zone” program of the German TV channel, DW, filmed Wednesday. Borrell repeatedly insulted the journalist -Tim Sebastian, a veteran political interviewer formerly of BBC HardTalk- left the interview, then came back.
Borrell began to get uncomfortable when Sebastian asked about the presumption of innocence, and why a “grandmother” like Carme Forcadell must be in preventative custody pre-trial. The minister blame-shifted by saying “perhaps if Puigdemont had not fled, they would have proposed other measures.” Sebastian wasn’t satisfied with this as an answer, and asked Borrell if he thought 15 hours a day locked in a cell was really ideal. Borrell then initiated one of many threats to stop the interview. “Ask me the right questions and let me talk”, he complained. After being asked about Spain’s terrible rankings in judicial independence, the fact that Carles Puigdemont called his nomination “not a gesture aimed at de-escalation” and a study which stated that 70% of Spaniards would be in favour of constitutional reform, Borrell couldn’t contain himself, and embarrassingly exploded and left. Taking his advisers suggestions, he returned a few minutes later, and despite the conversation not addressing Catalonia, Borrell still managed to call the journalist “a liar”, “an ignorant” and “ill-informed”. When he suggested that the interviewer “ask less biased questions” he was, quite rightfully, told “I am not here to ask you the questions you want”.