The blog´s etiquette correspondent draws our attention to a dolorous faux pas in Bratislava. It seems there's been a spot of one-sided gloved handshaking going on in that quarter, with the US President failing to remove said item whilst greeting his Slovak hosts Ivan Gasparovic and Mikulas Dzurinda. Understandably, dismay has been widespread and vocal.
This blog is a bit of a stickler for etiquette and feudal form. Indeed it is one of the leading European authorities on how to tip one's hat to the grocer before the toast to the Queen and suchlike quandaries.
So here is our ex cathedra pronouncement: The fault is with the hosts, who should have put their gloves back on when they saw the President´s "what should I do with my gloves?" dilemma. Doing so would have put their guest at his ease, which is etiquette´s overriding concern on such occasions. A copy of my Handbook of How to Win With Your Gloves On is winging its way over to Ivan and Mikulas even as we speak.
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