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Who is Xavier Bettel? Luxembourg’s Prime Minister who empty chaired Boris Johnson
LUXEMBOURG'S Prime Minister, Xavier Bettel, has hit the headlines after blasting Boris Johnson and his Brexit plans.
Luxembourg's first openly gay Prime Minister "empty-chaired" the UK's PM in a petty move in front of bemused reporters. Here's the details...
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Who is Xavier Bettel?
Xavier Bettel, 46, is the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, he is a member of the Democratic party and previously served as the mayor of Luxembourg City.
Bettel is openly gay, making him one of four openly gay heads of government.
The 46-year-old politician is a qualified lawyer, having studied at French and Greek universities.
The former mayor also worked as a chat show host, fronting Sonndes em 8, a weekly talk show, on the now-defunct private T.TV television network in his native Luxembourg.
In 2013 he was elected as leader of Luxembourg's Democratic Party and assumed his role as Prime Minister at the end of that same year.
Following a general election in 2018, Bettel became the first openly gay Prime Minister in the world to be elected for a second term, serving as part of a coalition alongside Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party and The Greens.
He also holds the functions of Minister of State, Minister for Communications and the Media and Minister for Religious Affairs.
Bettel's politics include reforms on same-sex marriage, religious education and credit.
The Prime Minister has been married to architect, Gauthier Destenay since 2015.
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Did Xavier Bettel 'empty chair' Boris Johnson?
Xavier Bettel hit headlines when he pressed ahead with a press conference on September 16, 2019, after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson declined to attend.
Johnson had asked to rearrange the conference to a new location as he was being hounded by anti-Brexit protesters, but Bettel refused.
The Luxembourg Prime Minister then used the opportunity to broadcast his feelings on Brexit and Boris Johnson's plans for leaving the EU.
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What did Xavier Bettel say about Brexit?
Bettel used Johnson's absence to air his grievances about Brexit.
He called the UK's departure from the EU and Johnson's plans for it a “nightmare”.
He also accused The Brit PM of not putting forward any new plans for a Brexit agreement since becoming Prime Minister.
He said: "Our people need to know what is going to happen to them in six weeks’ time.
"They need clarity, they need certainty, and they need stability. You can’t hold a future hostage for party political gains.”
"So now it’s on Mr Johnson, he holds the future of all UK citizens and every EU citizen living in the UK in his hands. It’s his responsibility. Your people, our people, count on you. But the clock is ticking, use your time wisely," he added.
He also branded Brexit a "homemade" problem that the EU has no choice to accept.
However, critics have blasted the outburst, slamming Bettel's "stubborn" attitude and highlighting the speech as proof of the EU's reluctance to work out a new Brexit deal with the UK.
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