Apparently, the former prime minister began by painstakingly checking what every other occupant of the table was planning to have, canvassed the waiter's opinion, then spent 10 minutes fussing about whether the dover sole was too big, before asking the waiter (answer: no), then trying, unsuccessfully, to get his mate to enter into a coalition and share the sole with him, before capitulating and plumping for the penne arrabbiata.