The friends we make on holiday

Much jollity at the Parliamentarian of the Year Awards today, both Peter Mandelson and George Osborne dealt with their reunion with commendable grace. One suspects that these two prime political operators have more respect for one another than one might think. Also, the good humour with which Osborne dealt with the general ribbing he received showed that he has the temperament and the perspective to ride out this current storm.

At the end of lunch, one rather mischievous guest joked to me that there should be an award for the politician whose stock has fallen the most in the last twelve months. I’m sure Coffee Housers will have some ideas on this front. I’m tempted to offer a bunch of bananas to the best suggestion but I fear that may be prejudging things.