Feminist Group Pelts Belgian PM With Mayonnaise & Fries

Part of the hazards of trade of heads of state and other politicians is being booed by a disbelieving crowd like what happened recently to Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott when he attended the memorial service for a former Labor prime minister.

But beyond the embarrassing boos, public figures must also learn to duck fast when the crowd turns hostile and start to throw objects at the speaker. Among the popular items to lob at politicians like PMs, presidents and ministers are tomatoes and eggs.

Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaida from the al-Baghadadia TV network added shoes to the list of items to throw at presidents when he hurled his shoes at U.S. President George W Bush in 2008 during a press conference.

YouTube/tpmtv

On Monday, members of a feminist group showed their disagreement with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel's austerity measures by throwing mayonnaise and fries at the PM, reports USA Today.

YouTube/euronews (in English)

The incident happened during a press conference in the Belgian city of Namu. However, unlike the incident involving Mr Bush when the shoe thrower was arrested by the president's security group, the 38-year-old Belgian PM said he would not press charges against the mayo lobbers.

He just apologised to media men covering the press conference for smelling of mayonnaise. Michel announced austerity measures spread over five years for Belgium to save 11 billion euro.

The measures include spending cuts, raising the retirement age to 67 from 65 and ending the automatic cost-of-living raise for 2015.

The feminist group LilithS, reportedly an offshoot of the feminist movement FEMEN - which is known for baring their breasts in public to make a political statement - are opposed to the austerity measures and expressed it by throwing Belgium's famous food, Belgian fries, at Michel.

The group complained that with so much cuts in the national budget, "nothing is left but fries with austerity sauce," which probably refers to dining tables of struggling Belgian families.

The "free" Belgian fries that LilithS "gifted" Michel appears to be a minor distraction because the PM is facing bigger headache over the budget such as the labor union calls for a general strike for 24 hours which could cancel 600 flights and affect 50,000 air travelers.

In November, 100,000 Belgians marched on the streets of capital city Brussels to express their disagreement with the austerity cuts.

At least in Australia, despite his unpopularity, no one has thrown a kangaroo at Mr Abbott. They worse they have done to hurt his ego is just call him an idiot.

Read: Darwin Hot Sauce Company Calls PM Tony Abbott 'Idiot'

To contact the writer, email: v.hernandez@ibtimes.com.au