No offense intended

EU’s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said she was confident fellow Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht "did not intend any offense" with his remarks on Jews when he was asked in a radio interview for his opinion on the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian talks.
http://www.ejpress.org/article/45717

Daniel Greenfield makes an interesting analysis contrasting Thilo Sarrazin's remarks with those made by Mr. De Gucht.
Click here to read the article.

Meanwhile, a few days after Karel de Gucht, former Belgian Prime Minister of Foreign Affairs, gave the radio interview that caused offense, Reuters headlines includes "Belgium plunged back into political crisis on Saturday as the politician trying to broker formation of a government quit, almost three months after an election."
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE6831RJ20100904?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews