‘Maybot’ gets into the groove in Africa
Theresa May turned her hand to dance floor diplomacy on the opening day of her Africa trade trip.
The Prime Minister moved from side to side and bobbed up and down yesterday as she was greeted at a school by a group of pupils dancing energetically. Mrs May smiled and laughed throughout.
She later joined in with a second dance during her visit to the ID Mkize School in Cape Town.
At a packed school assembly, she told the pupils: “Can I thank all those young people who were involved in the performances outside who welcomed me.”
The PM used her visit to the school to announce the Chevening scholarship would be opened up to 100 more of “Africa’s brightest young people”. She said: “What I see before me in this hall today is the future of South Africa.”
Mrs May added: “I’d like to think that some of you, when you get older, if you’re thinking of going to university that you might think of coming to one of our great universities in the UK. We’ve got a programme, it’s called the Chevening scholarship, which helps people to do that ... we’re going to open up scholarships to 100 more of Africa’s brightest young people.”
Manyofushavebeen there. That moment when you are dragged up on to the dance floor by people who smile but refuse to take no for an answer. The usually lacklustre performance that follows is normally witnessed by a fairly small number of people.
So spare a thought for Theresa “the Maybot” May, who found herself in a similar situation on a visit to a school in Cape Town, South Africa, in front of the TV cameras. A display of dancing by the children prompted other dignitaries to join in, leaving the Prime Minister with a choice: remain standing and seem aloof (not a great image when you’re hoping to make people like you for trade reasons) or get your groove on. She chose the latter and was as wooden as you might expect.
But, to be fair, so were the rest of the adults, possibly suffering from the contrast with the kids, who had almost certainly been practising. And Mrs May did seem to start to warm to the task. When she smiled at the children, her eyes managed to join in. The real business of the trip is taking place behind closed doors, but sometimes diplomacy can be a simple thing.