Paavo Lipponen snapped at Göran Persson in toilet queue
Mandela saved Swedish PM from wrath of Finnish colleague
Göran Persson
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Paavo Lipponen
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Sweden’s former Prime Minister Göran Persson has Nelson Mandela to thank for once saving him from the wrath of his Finnish colleague Paavo Lipponen, claims Persson in his newly published memoirs, Min väg, mina val ("My Way, My Choices").
The episode apparently took place as the two were queueing for the toilet at a meeting of the European Union in the summer of 1998.
Relations between Persson and Lipponen were not always the best possible. The two prime ministers were waiting for an appearance by the South African President at the meeting in the Welsh capital Cardiff in June 1998.
"During a break and while we were standing in the toilet queue, the burly figure of Lipponen was ahead of me. He was angry. Lipponen was furious - he literally radiated anger. I had probably said something in my speech which was not to the liking of him and Finland", Persson recalls.
"Lipponen turned to me and said in a low, clear voice, emphasising every syllable, which is why his speech is always so unbearably slow: ‘You should watch out!’"
"It felt very awkward, but right at that moment, the toilet door opened, and out came a smiling Mandela. He looked at me and Paavo, greeted us in a friendly manner, and we exchanged a few words." The arrival of Nelson Mandela seems to have defused the tension.
Persson also spoke about the episode with the Finnish News Agency STT during a press conference on Tuesday. At that time he insisted that he had been reconciled with Lipponen.
"We smoothed out our disagreements. I even took part in Paavo’s last election campaign. Lipponen is a great European statesman in many respects", Persson said.
Persson was the Prime Minister of Sweden from 1996 to 2006, when his Social Democratic Party suffered an election defeat.
According to the Swedish late edition tabloid newspaper Aftonbladet, on the strength of his book Persson would have the makings for an evening paper journalist.
In the view of the Norwegian paper Aftenposten, it is quite unbelievable that in his 468-page tome Persson never mentions a single Norwegian politician.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 24.10.2007 - TODAY |
 Paavo Lipponen snapped at Göran Persson in toilet queue |
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