Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme blamed the sweltering heat of Africa after posting a cryptic message on his Twitter account during a trip, sparking a frenzy of media speculation.
During an official visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo for its 50th year of independence from Belgium, Leterme wrote in awkward English on the Web site: “Not at all. Want to learn to know you. You to?”
The message was quickly deleted from the micro-blogging Web site, but not before it was caught by Belgian media.
Leterme replaced the mysterious message with a new post explaining that it had been a “misunderstanding” and was originally intended for a “correspondent” he had run into at a reception, according to Belgian media.
The prime minister concluded, with a happy face to punctuate his sentence: “It must be the heat. :-)”
The “tweet” left Belgian media scratching their heads.
The daily newspaper La Capital wondered: “New gaffe by Leterme: Is he flirting on Twitter?”
The news Web site 7sur7.be said: “Yves Leterme makes acquaintance in Congo ... and on Twitter.”
Cornered by Belgian journalists pressing him about his “tweet” in Kinshasa, Leterme, who is married with three children, said the “message was not addressed to a woman but to a man,” according to Le Soir newspaper’s Web site.
Leterme was invited by DR Congo authorities for the celebrations of the June 30 independence Day along with Belgian King Albert II and Queen Paola.(AFP)
比利時總理伊夫•勒特姆日前出訪時，在微型網誌「推特」上發表了一段語意模糊的留言，引起媒體一陣猜疑與騷動，事後他將自己的行為怪罪於非洲悶熱的天氣。
在慶祝剛果民主共和國脫離比利時統治、獨立五十週年的正式訪問行程途中，勒特姆用菜英文在推特上寫下：「Not at all. Want to learn to know you. You to?」（一點也不。想學習認識你。你？）
這則訊息沒多久就被刪除，可惜還是晚了一步，已經被比利時媒體抓住把柄了。
比利時媒體表示，勒特姆隨即補上新的留言，表示那則語意不詳的留言是個「誤會」，而且原本是想留給某場歡迎會上認識的「特派員」。
總理在網誌上以標點符號打出一個笑臉寫著：「It must be the heat. :-)」（應該是天氣太熱的關係吧:-））。
他這一「推」，讓所有比利時媒體百思不得其解。
《首都日報》懷疑的寫著：「勒特姆說溜嘴：上推特調情？」
比利時新聞網站7sur7.be寫著：「伊夫•勒特姆訪剛果…上推特交朋友。」
根據比利時《晚報》網站報導，抵達剛果首都金夏沙後，勒特姆遭記者追問「推特」留言一事，他說「留言是給一位男性，而非女性。」他已婚並育有三名子女。
勒特姆與國王阿爾貝二世及寶拉皇后受剛果官方邀請，出席該國六月三十日的獨立紀念日慶祝活動。（法新社╱翻譯：吳岱璟）
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