At the right Brussels dinners, speakers of a certain grandeur (an ex-commissioner, say, or a bigwig from the European Parliament) win table-thumping applause by denouncing perfidious Albion, before noting solemnly that the Lisbon treaty, for the first time, allows countries to get out.

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Miloslav Ransdorf, a Communist bigwig, is already threatening to hold out for a couple of seats in the cabinet.

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Is this the view of a future European bigwig or just the theorising of a gifted strategist who never quite makes it to the top?

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Performance has recovered somewhat. (In any case, hedge funds have had a difficult year.) On July 7th GLG hired Driss Ben-Brahim, a Goldman Sachs bigwig.

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In February he pleased the White House by firmly dismissing an appeal from a visiting Iraqi bigwig, Tariq Aziz, for the allies to give up their campaign against Mr Hussein.

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In South Korea, a finance-ministry bigwig says his urgent priority is to persuade young ministry high-flyers, who invariably apply for an American posting, to go to India instead.

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Another is Olusegun Aganga, a previously London-based bigwig at Goldman Sachs, an American bank, who is tipped to become finance minister.

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One bigwig says the rules will make India a harder place to operate in than China.

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This figure, probably an ex-prime minister or similar bigwig, will be elected by serving heads of government for a two-and-a-half-year stint, renewable once, and will prepare and host four or more summits a year.

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