Tardiness is a poor excuse for keeping guests waiting, but politicians and heads of state usually get a pass due to their busy schedules, simultaneous meetings and elevated status.
So it was with Mexico’s president, Felipe Calderon, who delivered the keynote address at the opening of the recent Tianguis Turistico in Puerto Vallarta/Riviera Nayarit.
Delegates waited. And waited some more. When Calderon finally appeared, he received an enthusiastic welcome, despite the delay.
He got a long and loud round of applause, however, when he apologized and proffered his excuse.
“I was with the pope,” he said. (Pope Benedict XVI was just winding up his first-ever, three-day visit to Mexico.)
It’s hard to top that.