David Cameron and the Labour Trade Union blogger

Picture is from this morning’s breakfast seminar at the RSA. The main speaker was Nassim Nicholas Taleb author of “Black Swans” who famously was one of the few to “see it coming” and predict the current economic crisis. David Cameron was also part of the panel. I will post separately on this seminar which appears to have picked up quite a lot of negative (and inaccurate) comment.

I thought it was really interesting even if the dastardly chair Danny Finkelstein from the FT didn’t choose me to ask a question (not from my lack of trying).

Now this is the first time I have ever seen “Just call me Dave” up front and I will admit I am just a teeny, tiny bit biased against him, but I honestly didn’t think he came over that well. He seemed to me to be a little tense and even very, very slightly annoyed all the time. Not that he was at all rude or abrupt, just a little testy. It is ironic that to me he comes over well on the national TV but in such a relatively small gathering (75 of us?) he is a bit, well, plastic. While “our Gordon” comes over as a person much better in similar gatherings.

There seems to be some discussion why he was there and was it some attempt at the rebranding of his image as an intellectual heavyweight?

To be fair as I came out of the RSA he was chatting to people (aka being lobbied) as he was getting in his car. I went up to him and said “David I am not a supporter but could someone take a picture with the two of us”. He immediately agreed and for the first time that day gave a lovely relaxed tanned smile for the camera... Such is the prospect of appearing on John’s Labour blog!

I know I am setting myself for some stick by publishing this photo - but why not, it is after all the silly season.