18 November 2007

Yes, Your Royal Highness!

Somebody in Ynet is really getting his knickers twisted because of two secretaries of HRH Prince Charles display of some two-faced communication skills. That on top of being not very careful (on purpose or not, I wonder?) with their e-mails.

...Israeli Ambassador to Britain Zvi Heifetz invited Sir Michael Peat, Prince Charles’s principal private secretary, and Clive Alderton, deputy private secretary, to Israel as a prelude to a possible official visit by the prince.

In August, Sir Michael — copying in Alderton — expressed enthusiasm for the idea, replying in an email to the embassy, “The invitation is hugely appreciated and Clive and I would love to come.”

However, a private email exchange a month later between the two aides to the prince revealed a completely different picture. In the exchange of emails seen by the JC, Alderton privately sought reassurance from his superior that the pair need never accept the invitation.

Alderton — whose responsibilities include foreign affairs and relations with ethnic and faith communities and who has accompanied Prince Charles and his wife on a visit to Kuwait in February — complained to Sir Michael in an email of being “pursued” by the ambassador, and asked: “Safe to assume there is no chance of this visit ever actually happening?
So what, any normal person will ask? A regular exchange between two normal civil servants who, besides being polite, have never had a slightest intention to accept the invitation. So far everything is perfectly civil and according to the established procedure. Just discussing politely the best way to get rid of that uncouth heathen ambassador.

But then a tongue slips:
Acceptance would make it hard to avoid the many ways in which Israel would want HRH (Prince Charles) to help burnish its international image. In which case, let’s agree a way to lower his expectations.
Burnish... hmm... this is the rotten fruit of that posh public school cum Oxbridge upbringing for you. "Polish and make shiny". What the fuck...

We really cannot have his RH polishing and shining anything over here, come on, people. It is a job for a lowly politician, for krissake. Besides, I personally prefer to remain uncouth, unpolished and, if necessary, unwashed. And as for the author of that article (one Modi Kreitman) going totally OTT with this:
Diplomacy is known to entail using half-truths and sometimes even lies, but Prince Charles' associates seem to have set a new record in this field, with the victim being the State of Israel.
Come on, Modi, relax, here is the man. Put aside that victimization fiddle and think: what is the worst that could happen if HRH and Camilla do not visit our humble corner of the world here?

Yes, we'll remain one of the many humble corners of the world unvisited yet by
HRH and Camilla...

And to the loyal secretaries: next time you take your boss on a trip to Dubai or some such place, just whisper in his shell-like (well, in this case, rather lotus-like) that he is actually in Israel. It should do the job, I am sure.

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