One source of income that Mr Ronmey shares with our own politicians is generous speaker's fees. It is of course something that truly blooms once the senior politician has left office and, despite his elaborate and successful efforts to ensure his financial affairs achieve maximum opacity, we know that our own Tony Blair now commands six-figure fees for his lucubrations. Who is it who pays so generously to hear the reflections of retired heads of government? Not the local women's institute but usually interest groups which have been past beneficiaries of the opinions and actions of the politician. The suspicion must be that they pay less for any new insights than to express their gratitude for past favours or benefits, in a kind of laundered rewards system.
