Boris Johnson, foreign secretary of the United Kingdom, met up with his Australian counterpart Julie Bishop yesterday (Feb. 23), who before attending to business had to stop and fix Johnson’s necktie.
In photos of their meeting in London, Johnson appears to have put on his necktie in a bit of a rush, with the narrow end lying on top of the wider. He also left his blond hair in its signature state of dishevelment.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that any nation’s leader finds themself disoriented each morning, given the world’s current disarray. While the UK is trying to make its way to a smooth Brexit transition and to secure visa and trade deals with different countries, the US seems undecided whether there should be one or two states for Israel and Palestine, not to mention whether it should support one or two Chinas. Meanwhile China is busy finding its new place as globalization’s champion, and France is on the edge of a potential electoral upheaval.
But Bishop has good reasons to give Johnson a hand. Australia is hoping the UK will relax its immigration policy for Australians in exchange for a free trade deal, and it looks like Johnson is all for it: He supported a closer immigration policy with Australia ahead of the Brexit vote in June last year, a position he has maintained since at least 2013.
After the tie-fixing, Bishop chatted with Johnson on matters like Brexit, North Korea and the Middle East. One can only hope the meeting ended with a packed sandwich for lunch and a pat on the head.