In diplomatic gatherings, timekeeping is not merely logistical — it is substantive. Punctuality signals respect for the host, the audience, and the gravity of the occasion, particularly when the event itself carries historical weight and global consequence.
Which is why the late arrival of FC — a diplomat representing an ambassador — did not go unnoticed.
By the time FC entered the venue, the acceptable grace period had long passed. In such assemblies, allowances are quietly made for those delayed by distance or circumstance — ten, perhaps fifteen minutes at most. Beyond that, the program proceeds. Protocol does not pause.
Yet instead of a discreet entry, FC opted for a different approach. Phone in hand, he immediately posed for a selfie — this time with a close associate of his ambassador and the event’s host. The gesture was conspicuous, and the timing curious, as if documentation of presence mattered more than participation in substance.
Observers exchanged glances.
What followed raised further eyebrows. FC took a seat beside those clearly designated for ambassadors, a choice that seasoned guests understood instantly — not as coincidence, but as statement. For a communications professional, optics are not accidental.
Around the room, reactions ranged from polite silence to muted humor. One attendee summed it up dryly: “Too late for the main event, too early for the selfie.”
In gatherings of this nature, schedules are not flexible accessories. Once the program ends and the room shifts toward reception, the hierarchy of moments is already fixed. Arriving after the substance, then positioning oneself front and center — socially and visually — invites scrutiny no press instinct can deflect.
Diplomacy, after all, is about reading the room.
And sometimes, the room reads you first.
Tant pis.