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Global Issues

Tardy Tactics?

The Late Arrival Habits of the Russian Leader

10821 Hyejeong Choi

Putin’s history of keeping global leaders waiting is well documented. Victims range from
German Chancellor Angela Merkel to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, and even Pope
Francis, often making them wait for hours at a time.
Putin, in a meeting about international diplomacy with Japanese Prime Minister Abe in
September of 2018, kept the leader waiting for two and a half hours and, for a meeting with
Park Geun-hye, former president of Korea, in September of 2016, showed up one hour
and forty-five minutes late. He was thirty minutes late for a meeting with Moon Jae-in and
appeared as late as four hours and fifteen minutes for a meeting with German Chancellor
Angela Merkel in 2014. However, it was the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un who kept Putin
waiting. Of course, Putin did not come early and wait for him as he was also thirty minutes
late for the meeting with the North Korean leader. Everyone was rather surprised when Putin
welcomed him after the late arrival.
Putin tops Forbes' most powerful people list for the fourth time. Observers say this
lateness may be an intentional tactic to create anxiety ahead of the meetings, giving him
a psychological advantage. Or maybe he wants to show that he holds the upper hand in a
game of power politics, they say. Putin, who has engaged in such tardy tactics, has been in
office for twenty years since May 7th, 2000. This includes his term as prime minister, taking
power from the real president, and his sixteen years as president before that.

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