Moreover, Mr Kahn is wonderfully unlike South Africa's patrician, sometimes arrogant, white mine-owners.

ECONOMIST: South Africa

Another reason why French companies in aggregate have not done so well in China, says Wang Jiann-Yuh, director-general of the France-China Committee, part of MEDEF, the French employer's union, is that French businesspeople can be impatient, sometimes arrogant, and overly focused on short-term results.

ECONOMIST: French companies in China

He can sometimes appear arrogant and dismissive.

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At home, Mr Persson is sometimes seen as rather aloof and arrogant.

ECONOMIST: Charlemagne

Sometimes, it means that you have to confront an arrogant bully.

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