“I promised Minister Prévot that I would refrain from making disparaging statements targeting Belgian officials and would direct those complaints to the government directly as a first course of action.” That’s what US Ambassador Bill White said following a meeting with Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot (Francophone centrist). White was called to account (once again), this time for a fresh attack on Belgian Deputy Premier and Health and Social Affairs Minister Frank Vandenbroucke (Flemish socialist).
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US Ambassador Bill White promises not to make any more public “disparaging statements” about Belgian politicians
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On Instagram, White had posted an AI-generated image of Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke (Vooruit) with the caption: “Damages every form of joy in life”. Above it, he wrote: “Who’s the biggest loser in Belgium?”. He was referring to the debate over the health warning on alcohol.
“It is unacceptable for an ambassador accredited to Belgium to turn against a member of our government in this way,” Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot (Les Engagés) responded. He immediately summoned White to explain himself.
Following the meeting US Ambassador White said: ‘We had a very frank conversation. I respect what he said. But I will continue to post what I think and gauge what people here in Belgium think.’
In a written response issued a little later, the tone was somewhat different: “I promised Minister Prévot that I would refrain from making disparaging statements targeting Belgian officials and would direct those complaints to the government directly as a first course of action,” White wrote.