And it was Weizman himself, the old left's favourite son, who helped deal it the fatal blow.

ECONOMIST: Obituary

In the past, business as normal has meant choosing a favourite son to deliver a state or region.

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Mr Rudd's home state of Queensland, where he is still a favourite son, will be crucial in the election.

ECONOMIST: Australia's neck-and-neck election: Down underdog bites back | The

Iowa's second favourite son, Rick Santorum, did badly here.

BBC: It could get even nastier for Mitt Romney

Today, he comes across as a mother's favourite son-in-law.

ECONOMIST: Germany's generation gap

But if Mr Brown is the favourite son, Mr Blair, despite being younger, enjoys a more avuncular role, exploiting his slight distance from the party to tease it, lecture it, and tell it one or two home truths.

ECONOMIST: Browned off with Blair?

Hardly anyone has the sort of favourite-son status that can deliver big blocks of votes.

ECONOMIST: Be my number two

Nevertheless, Lennon is widely regarded as a favourite Celtic son and will be afforded an ocean of goodwill by supporters desperate to wrest the league title back from their Old Firm rivals.

BBC: Lennon takes Celtic centre stage

III, scion of a favourite Minnesotan son.

ECONOMIST: The campaign

My favourite speech has to be the one when her son got lost in the desert.

BBC: Thatcher's role: Was she one of the great orators?

Willy Twiston-Davies, the 16-year-old son of Imperial Commander's trainer Nigel, rides the favourite Baby Run in the Foxhunter Chase, the race immediately following the Gold Cup.

BBC: Cheltenham: Racing's new order