Bureaucratic insistence by the French has ensured that Portugal’s new Prime Minister has been prevented from addressing the Climate Change conference, COP21, that started in Paris today.
Unable to accept that politics happens and that prime ministers change, the French organisers have insisted that as António Costa was not named on the speakers’ list, he can not speak at the crucial event.
"It was too late to enroll António Costa when he took office. This conference has very strict rules and Portugal is not enrolled because it did not do so in time. We still tried to sign him up, but couldn’t," according to the prime minister's office.
António Costa trotted along to the Climate Conference at 8 am but unlike the other 150 heads of state and government leaders present, he was told that he cannot address the audience because the name on the list was that of His Excellency Pedro Passos Coelho, Portuigal's former PM.
All heads of state and government leaders, over 150 of them, will be able to address delegates from 196 countries, apart from Portugal because the 'computer says no.'
Portugal did not appear on the official list distributed by the UN, but suddenly appeared on the list released on Sunday. The problem was, the wrong name was used despite Costa having taken over Portugal’s government days earlier.
Although Portugal’s views on climate change will not be heard, António Costa will be given a good meal this evening at Le Bourget courtesy of the French taxpayer.
The Presidents of the United States, China and Russia will be able to enlighten delegates as to their current thinking on global warming, as will the leaders of most of Europe’s countries.
More embarrassingly, most of Portugal’s chums will be there with the Presidents of Brazil and Guinea-Bissau and the Vice President of Angola attending plus the Prime Ministers of Cape Verde, Mozambique and Sao Tomé and Principe.
