Thursday, December 13, 2007

Catching Up with the Anti-Condi


Austria'a Prime Minister Alfred Gusenbauer (L) and Foreign Affairs Minister Ursula Plassnik congratulate each other after signing the EU Treaty of Lisbon in the Jeronimos Monastery in Lisbon December 13, 2007. REUTERS/Jose Manuel Ribeiro (PORTUGAL)


Ursula really is the Anti-Condi, getting stuff done and making things happen. She's like an action figure to Condi's rag doll. OK, I have to be honest, but I totally don't get what they're talking about in the caption, and I have no idea if the side Ursula was on was the good side or the bad side or if there even were good or bad sides. But I'll say that it had such a pretty stage! I think it's like a video backdrop or something, because when they're signing the thing, it all magically changes to a wonderful, totally gorgeous PINK:


(AP Photo/Armando Franca)


Here's a nice shot from a press conference the affable giantess had yesterday. I think some of the more Ursulacentric Pony Pals will find much to admire in this worshipful shot:


REUTERS/Herbert Neubauer (AUSTRIA)


And, finally, those Ursula fans who take special delight in her majestic scale will instantly recognize this pose, in which the powerful yet considerate Amazon bends gracefully down to confer with one of her seemingly puny --but actually normally-sized-- colleagues:


Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik (L) talks with her Portuguese counterpart Luis Amado (R) at the start of a Europoean Union foreign ministers meeting in Brussels December 10, 2007. The EU is close to full unity in support for Kosovo's drive for independence, with only Cyprus insisting that sovereignty for the Serbian province must be backed by a U.N. resolution, ministers said on Monday.
REUTERS/Sebastien Pirlet (BELGIUM)


And what else has our favorite European Diplomatic Superbabe been up to? Banning cluster bombs, for one (be sure to read her powerful statements here). From the article, LOL:

Human rights activist and former wife of the Rolling Stones' lead singer Bianca Jagger praised Austria's move and said she hoped "that other countries will follow this example."


OMG, Bianca Jagger! LOVE HER.

What madcap escapades will Ursula get up to next?

14 comments:

Fran said...

OMG! In that second photo where she is signing something or whatever, she looks so damned commanding!!

It even gives a heterosexshul gal like me a tingly thrill.

That AND she bans clusterbombs!!

Condi - she just creates diploclusterf*cks.

No comparison whatsoevah!

Kelster93 said...

OMG -- Ursula envy!!!

(All I want for Christmas is a responsible foreign policy-y-y!)

Marvin Lesbian said...

You know how in Hello, Dolly, when Carol Channing walks down those stairs, and a bevy of prancing waiters sings (with glee) "It's so nice to have you back where you belong"? When I see Ursula on this blog, I am like that bevy.

There is no scarf to be seen in the new pix, but look in the second photo. Is that a pin on her lapel? Made of sea anenomes (sp?)? Is it the microphone. Also note that in photo one, it is her own handshake that serves as the background. The medal for stagecraft goes to...Portugal!

Anonymous said...

Marvin - lots of scarves, I believe, but in the Portugal shots she's stylishly tucked it into her jacket, using it as a kind of amazon-ascot.

Now: if an Austrian bodybuilder can move to the States, have a ludicrous career, and then take over as governor of a state, is there really, truly no way that an Austrian diplomat can have stay home, have a fabulous career - and then move here to save us from ourselves? Here's to Austro-Hungarian hegemony!

Matthew Hubbard said...

It's all too clear now. Ursula must have a pink backdrop whenever she is photographed.

No exceptions. Ever, ever, ever, ever, EVER!

That picture is the perfect combination of girly frilliness and gigantic awesomeness.

I'm having trouble typing.

Civic Center said...

Thank you, Princess, for bringing light into these dark times.

Anonymous said...

Yay! PSP has responded to my cries for more of our radiant giantess! Thank you, Princess, for brightening my day and helping me through this horrendous train-wreck of a week.

HRH King Friday XIII, Ret. said...

That third picture is really nice. It's like a glamour shot.

dguzman said...

I love the pic of the three diplo-ladies on that Banning Cluster Bombs link--it looks like a screen shot from a madcap sitcom or maybe a super menage-a-cop Euro version of Cagney and Lacey. *swoon*

Anonymous said...

"I have no idea if the side Ursula was on was the good side or the bad side or if there even were good or bad sides"

It's like everything in Europe, the masses against the classes.

And like a true diplomat, Ursula is shoving further unwanted European integration down the classes' throats.

That's real power! Bypass referenda and do it anyway. In America that's the province of local mayors building sports stadiums--whereas in Europe they use a "treaty" to do the same work a rejected Constitution was going to do. What diplomacy!!

Anonymous said...

I love this blog and I appreciate the fashionable affability of Ursula. And yes she does seem to be more substantive than Condi (though it doesn't take much)! But I worry that pony pals are blinded by the majestic scarves and don't realize that Ursula is a part of a government that has proven itself to pursue a frankly racist foreign policy. I'm not muslim or middle eastern--I'm a white/latino American--but I was disgusted by Austria's barely disguised racism in its opposition to Turkey's entry into the EU. And Ursula was Austria's mouthpiece during that whole debacle. Let's not idolize her just because she's better than Condi! That's not a very high standard.

Keith said...

um...Ursula has shoes with fried eggs on them. Thats why we LOVE her.

Anonymous said...

PSP, you realize if the topic of the Austrian Foreign Minister ever comes up on Jeopardy, we'll all have you to thank for our winning answers!

Anonymous said...

That third shot makes clear Ursula's visionary qualities. My God, the woman's another Maria-Theresa!