Mr Blair himself works from a sofa in a cosy study next door, which would be rejected as too small by the personal assistant to any corporate big hitter, let alone by the boss himself.

ECONOMIST: Size isn��t everything | The

So the Freedomites hope that many conservatives, fed up with the grand coalition but no fans of Mr Haider, will vote for the Freedom Party without fearing that its boss will pop up in government, let alone as its head.

ECONOMIST: Austria