I change the subject to a politician who is more congenial, his old school friend from Eton, Boris Johnson, who is now mayor of London. Johnson stayed with Abhisit in Thailand, in their year off between school and university, and the two have remained close. I ask whether they had both always harboured political ambitions. Abhisit says: “I had expected Boris to go into politics but he’s a character so it was never going to be a smooth ride for him. But all credit to him that he’s used his character and is sticking to being his true self and getting to where he is today.” Johnson has boasted that he is the only British politician who knows how to spell “Vejjajiva”. At Eton, the future prime minister was frequently referred to as “Veggie” for short.