‘Man With The Reverse Midas Touch’: Keir Starmer Roasts Prime Minister Rishi Sunak Over Elgin Marbles ‘Snub’

Labour leader Keir Starmer roasted Prime Minister Rishi Sunak Wednesday after he snubbed Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis over a diplomatic row about the return of the ancient Elgin Marbles sculptures to Greece.

Sunak cancelled a pre-scheduled meeting with Mitsotakis on Tuesday, offending him, after the latter gave a BBC interview where he argued for the return of the Elgin Marbles to Greece, comparing their split between London and Athens to severing the Mona Lisa. The sculptures are kept in the British Museum in London

During Prime Minister’s Questions, however, Starmer laid into the Prime Minister and mused about his sudden “keen interest in Greek culture.” The opposition leader raised cheers and laughter in the House as he branded Sunak “the man with the reverse Midas touch”—the antithesis to the legendary Greek king who was able to turn everything into gold.

Stamer said: “It is ironic that he’s suddenly taken such a keen interest in Greek culture when he’s clearly become the man with the reverse Midas touch. Everything he touches turns to… maybe the Home Secretary could help me out here… rubbish.”

The sculptures are at the heart of one of the longest running cultural disputes in Europe. Greece insists on their repatriation, arguing that they were unlawfully removed during the period of Ottoman Empire’s rule over Greece and should be brought back for exhibition in Athens. However, the British maintain that they legally acquired the statues from the Ottomans before Greece achieved independence and that returning them would establish a precedent for museums worldwide.

Starmer stepped in to meet with Mitsotakis on Tuesday, announcing that his party was open to a loan arrangement for the marbles as a legal workaround to the British Museum Act of 1963, barring removal of collection pieces.