After half an hour of my lunch with Peter Mandelson, I’m feeling pretty desperate. In an act of conspicuous non-consumption, the European Union’s trade commissioner has turned down the FT’s offer to take him to any restaurant in Brussels, and opted instead for a tray of EU sandwiches and fruit in his office – washed down with a glass of sparkling mineral water.

But the food is not the problem. It’s just that Mandelson - a clever and entertaining man - is being very boring. It’s my fault. I’ve asked him about the progress of the Doha trade round, and so turned our lunch into a press conference. I look across the coffee table that separates the two sofas we are sitting on, as the words come tumbling out in a low monotone: ”Managing globalisation... a breathing space... secure support for an ’an open Europe’... pushing a boulder up a hill... the Hampton Court agenda... key decisions... we’ll know by June.”