ANDREU ESTEBÃO (@ESTEBOANDREU)

#NZ Like any (sort of) sophisticated nation we’ve always played host to visits from foreign leaders. The APEC meeting of 1999 even had the presidents of the USA, Russia and China all here at the same time. But never, ever, ever have I seen a New Zealand Prime Minister holding hands with a visiting Prime Minister. https://peterallanwilliams.substack.com/p/the-modi-loveliest Dear me, it’s what you do when you‘re stepping out with a new squeeze in the first pangs of love, or when that relationship has nicely matured and you’re having a really romantic date night. But Prime Minister to Prime Minister ? A 75 year old and a fifty something holding hands in full public view for the world to see. I’m sorry, but that was just weird. Whose idea was it? If it was supposed to be a public display of the now incredibly tight love affair between our two countries then why has a New Zealand PM never held hands with the President of China or the PM of Australia or even the President of the US? It might just be that Modi is a tactile individual, but it’s still weird.