I was amused to see that UK foreign secretary Jack Straw announced that the referendum on the European constitution was “postponed”. That seems to suggest that it will be rescheduled one day.

Does anyone really expect that to happen? My old stamping ground, the World Economic Forum, never ever cancelled an event. If something went wrong politically or commercially a Forum meeting would be “postponed”. I have this image of some loyal Forum participants hanging on many, many years later, wondering when that meeting date is going to be reconfirmed.