Spain‘s ambassador to Belgium ‘will be sacked’ for taking a ‘siesta’ while his boss gave an hour-long speech during a summit in Madrid last month.
Alberto Anton has been dismissed by Spain’s foreign minister Jose Manuel Albares after he was filmed dozing off at the annual ambassador’s conference, Spanish media has reported.
A short clip shared on social media shows Anton yawning and rubbing his eyes before he drifts into sleep in the middle of the meeting.
The ambassador can later be seen with his head tilted to one side as he enjoys his snooze.
While local media has reported on Anton’s dismissal, Spanish Foreign Ministry told MailOnline that the ambassador to Belgium has not been removed and remains in his post.
But citing official sources, Spanish paper El Mundo reported that Anton has already been informed of his dismissal, which will not be effective until Belgium approves the move.
The foreign minister’s response to the unscheduled nap is his latest move in a ‘crusade’ against his colleagues, Spanish outlet El Independiente reported.
Dubbed ‘Little Napoleon’, Albares has been accused of creating a ‘climate of terror’, having recently sacked seven senior officials over personal slights.
Spain ‘s ambassador to Belgium has been sacked for taking a ‘siesta’during a conference
A short clip shared on social media shows Alberto Anton yawning and rubbing his eyes before he drifts into sleep
Spain’s foreign minister Jose Manuel Albares has been accused of creating a ‘climate of terror’ among diplomats
‘He notes things that happened 15 or 20 years ago: someone who did not greet him when he entered the office; a bad look or a phrase. He saves everything and ends up punishing you. Now he is trying to remember his entire career’, an unnamed diplomat told the publication.
Another diplomat told newspaper ABC that Albares keeps a list of all the officials he holds grudges over.
‘We call it the notebook of Monte Cristo and revenge is unleashed on all the names he has written’, the unnamed official said.
Spain’s ambassador to Croatia Juan Gonzalez-Barba has also fallen victim to the Socialist minister’s latest firing frenzy after publishing an article defending Spanish King Felipe VI in newspaper El Confidencial.
Albares has come under fire over the yearsfor his alleged behaviour.
In one notable instance, when Queen Elizabeth died, Albares prohibited Spanish diplomats in London from commenting on the monarch’s death.
He also reportedly berated the head of the Cervantes Institute in the British capital for speaking about the late Queen to Spanish media.
The Spanish ambassador to Belgium’s sleepy mishap is not the first to happen in politics.
Jacob Rees-Mogg was mocked in 2019 after he was pictured lying down with his eyes closed in the House if Commons during a crunch Brexit debate.
Pictured: Alberto Anton, Spain’s ambassador to Belgium
In the clip, the ambassador can later be seen with his head tilted to one side as he enjoys his snooze
The sleepy mishap happened last month at the annual ambassador’s conference in Madrid
The politician, who was at the time Leader of the House of Commons provoked a mix of ridicule and laughter after he reclined lazily on the government frontbench as MPs tried to seize control of the Brexit process.
Meanwhile, Keir Starmer’s new trade envoy to New Zealand said yesterday she had quit social media after footage in which she appeared to fall asleep in parliament re-circulated online.
The image of Welsh MP Carolyn Harris first emerged online four years ago, which she said ‘opened the floodgates’ to ‘relentless abuse’.
