Perhaps it was the snow. Perhaps it was the flurry of government business sparked by the Brexit divorce deal. Perhaps it was the scandal which led to the resignation of a cabinet minister just a month ago. Either way, the Conservative Friends of Israel lunch in Westminster on Monday was a more subdued affair than in past years.
That said, it is rather difficult to have a “low-profile” event when there are 700 people attending, including the Chief Rabbi, various ambassadors, about 100 MPs and more than half a dozen Cabinet ministers.
The stardust sprinkled liberally around the event two years ago, when guest speaker David Cameron had secured the Tories a Commons majority and almost the entire parliamentary Conservative Party attended, was less in evidence on Monday.
With Theresa May, Boris Johnson and their senior cabinet colleagues legitimately absent, it fell to Michael Gove, the Environment Secretary, to deliver the keynote speech.
