Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning Schmidt was called a “Danish hellcat” by one American columnist for her self-portrait with President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron at Nelson Mandela’s memorial service.
But most of her fellow Danes thought the photo was taken all in good fun.
Joachim Olsen, a member of Denmark’s Liberal Alliance Party, cornered Schmidt outside Parliament on Wednesday to take a photo that showed just how frivolous he thought the uproar over the “selfie” was. Olsen leaned in for a surprise peck on Schmidt’s cheek when a colleague set up to snap the photo.
Olsen told the New York Daily News that even though he doesn’t share the prime minister’s political views, he thought “it was a bit silly” people criticized Schmidt over the photo.
“I think sometimes politicians get so caught up in playing the role, and sometimes it’s good to show a little bit of who you really are,” he said.
On the subject of his own selfie with the prime minister, Olsen told the Daily News “it was just a little good fun, and she laughed and I laughed and a lot of people responded well to it.”
Watch below:
