Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's former and probably future prime minister, arrived in Belgium last Thursday for a private visit. On his way back from the United States, where he talked with Dick Cheney and speeched at New York University, Netanyahu stayed at the castle of the Merode family in Westerlo, 50 kilometers outside Brussels. On Saturday and Sunday he visited the Flemish medieval cities of Leuven, Ghent and Brugge (Bruges).
Kristof Debecker, a reporter of the newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws, asked the mayor of Leuven if he had considered an official welcome for Netanyahu. Here's what mayor Louis Tobback, a socialist, replied:
Personally, I'm not thrilled at all by this Netanyahu. Receiving him at the city hall is out of the question. Even if he would offer me a glass of beer at a Leuven terrace cafe, I would diplomatically but firmly refuse. Netanyahu is a reactionary right winger. [To his secretary:] When the request comes in, tell him that Tobback's schedule is fully booked for the rest of the week.
The mayor of Leuven is notorious for his provocative language. In 1985 Tobback was the leader of the opposition against the deployment of 48 medium-range cruise missiles in Belgium. A few years later he threatened to throw himself on the tracks of the TGV (high speed train) if its trajectory would pass near a highway in Leuven. The TGV track was built, but Tobback did not move.
(hat tip: Tobback picture copyright Pieter Baert)