Yesterday British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced that he won’t be attending the opening ceremony of this summer’s Olympic Games. Downing Street insisted that Brown had never planned to come to the opening, and that he will be present at the closing ceremony as the leader of the next nation to host the Olympics. However, until yesterday, no clear statement had been issued. According to Chinese media reports, Brown’s presence had been expected by Chinese authorities. Political analysts such as the BBC’s Nick Robinson and Simon Carr of the Independent have criticised Brown harshly for his foreign affairs blunder on their blogs.
In late March German Chancellor Angela Merkel became the first leader to boycott the opening ceremony in protest of China’s treatment of Tibet. Merkel had previously enraged the Chinese leadership by receiving the Dalai Lama in Berlin for private talks. French President Sarkozy is also considering the possibility of a boycott and has called on Chinese authorities to reopen discussions with the Dalai Lama. In the US, Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has applauded Brown’s decision and encouraged President Bush to do the same. Bush has confirmed his participation at some stage of the event.
