The politician made local news this week when it emerged he had missed the ceremonial handover of the Dance World Cup in Bucharest, Romania, after he instead flew to the Hungarian capital, Budapest, 400 miles away.
The mix-up, he said, was down to an administrative error within his department.
And after being the butt of Islanders’ jokes, the politician soon found himself being ridiculed in the national media.
The story has trended on Twitter as thousands of people across Britain shared the story using the hashtag #bucharest.
Mr Pallett, who has special responsibility for sport in the Island, was even interviewed on BBC Radio Four’s Today programme, where he was mocked for the error.
Presenter Sarah Montague quipped that the Constable may need a geography lesson, to which he replied: ‘Maybe I should be an assistant minister for geography next time rather than sport.’
The story also received national newspaper coverage, appearing in papers including The Times and the Daily Telegraph, as well as on the Daily Star’s website.
The Romania News shared the story on social media with the tag ‘you had one job!’
The trip cost nearly £1,000 and Mr Pallett has apologised to taxpayers for the error and said a civil servant booked the flights.
He met organisers of the Dance World Cup yesterday and apologised. He added that they were ‘disappointed’.
But perhaps Mr Pallett can take some comfort from the fact that the error has been made before. In fact, a website dedicated to educating people about the differences between Bucharest and Budapest – bucharestnotbudapest.com – has even been set up.
Celebrities who have confused the two include musician Lenny Kravitz, heavy-metal rockers Metallica and Iron Maiden and even the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, who have made the error of bellowing ‘Hello Budapest!’ to crowds when in fact they have been in Bucharest.
