Romney fails to impress

US presidential hopeful gets flak during Middle East and Europe tour for remarks seen by many as imprudent. Last Modified: 01 Aug 2012 00:27

Mitt Romney, the presumed Republican candidate for the US presidency, has made his first overseas trip of the 2012 election season. As Al Jazeera's Patty Culhane reports from Washington, however, the trip has been anything but error-free. The former Massachusetts governor's first stop was in the UK, where he managed to earn the ire of the city's mayor, Boris Johnson, after Romney said he had heard "disconcerting" reports about the city's preparations to host the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. Then in Israel, another long-time US ally, Romney said that the country's economy was stronger than that of the neighbouring Palestinian territories because of Israel's "culture". Palestinian leaders quickly accused him of racism, saying the statement highlighted "a lack of knowledge". His failure to refer to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories followed the candidate all the way to Poland, where at least one journalist asked him about his earlier comments in the Middle East.