Klaus Masuch is the particularly Teutonic representative of the European Central Bank who faced the media in Dublin on Thursday afternoon.
He started out with a bit of levity – or condescending praise, depending on your viewpoint – for the general understanding of complex financial issues by Ireland’s commonfolk.
And on what did he base that opinion? Well, a conversation with the taxi driver who brought him from the airport, of course.
But as you’ll see from the video at the top, when important things like the fate of Irish society beneath the boot-sole of European financial institutions are at stake, Vincent Browne is in no mood for any jokiness.
And Barbara Nolan, the European Commission’s chief Irish representative who chaired the press conference, was clever enough to get out of Vincent’s way too.
