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Polish PM has his mind on “dress buttons”, not EU presidency

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Summary of story from The Telegraph, June 2, 2011

Poland’s Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, is in hot water over his comments about “unbuttoning” a woman’s dress in response to a question about whether Polish preparations for the EU presidency in July were “buttoned up”.

His response to the question put to him by Sylwia Bialek, a female radio reporter, was: “I’m looking at the lady’s dress and buttoning up is not what comes to mind. I like the summer.”

Feminists in Poland have condemned his remarks as “outrageous and unacceptable.”

Izabela Stawicka from the Women’s Party called for Mr Tusk to be punished by the ethics committee, adding that he appeared to be leading his centre-right Civic Platform party in a competition for the “most sexist ruling party in the history of the Polish republic.”

Facing a barrage of criticism, Mr Tusk issued an apology.

“If I offended anyone, I apologise,” said the prime minister. “Maybe it was not the wisest of comment to make, but it was harmless.”

WVoN comment: His apology is worse than his comment. I am glad more and more male politicians are being reprimanded for their sexist behavior, but I would prefer to see a meaningful and genuine shift in general attitude towards women, instead of surface apologies.

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