Has Nick Clegg got holiday envy? Following last week’s big delegation to India, led by William Hague and George Osborne, and ahead of a planned visit by David Cameron in September, a diplomatic mole tells us that the Deputy PM and Lib-Dem leader is planning a copycat trip.
Our source is less than impressed. “It’s a vanity visit. The Indians aren’t really fussed about Clegg and we’re struggling to get anyone who is actually important to meet him. Why couldn’t he go somewhere that hasn’t had a load of massive British delegations already?”
The DPM’s office won’t comment on the timing of the trip “for security reasons” but are upbeat about Clegg’s prospects on the subcontinent. “There’ll be lots of meetings,” they tell us. Who with? “I can’t tell you.” OK, but isn’t Clegg feeling a little hard done by in terms of the calibre of his engagements? “All I can tell you is that is not my understanding.”
The Londoner wishes our DPM well on his adventure. After rumours that he is rather down in the dumps over his job, perhaps he can take the opportunity of a distant land and an empty(ish) diary to find himself.
