*** This speech was delivered on 9 June 2026. Only the spoken word is authoritative.*** Ladies and gentlemen,I don’t know the average age of the audience here today, but I imagine most of you will be familiar with Wile E. Coyote, one of the unforgettable characters from the Looney Tunes cartoons.Wile E. Coyote, as you may recall, spends his entire existence chasing the Road Runner.And in quite a few episodes, the same thing happens: he runs off a cliff, keeps running for a moment – suspended in mid-air, legs still moving – and only falls when he looks down and realises there is nothing beneat…

*** This speech was delivered on 3 June 2026. Only the spoken word counts.*** Dear General Grynkewich,Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,Ever since I was a child, I have been rather competitive.That will probably not surprise you coming from a politician.It also meant that I paid little attention to activities at which I was not particularly good.At school, for instance, physical education was certainly not my strongest subject.But whenever I saw an opportunity to succeed, I seized it with both hands.Snooker was one such opportunity.As a teenager, I often played snooker with friends.A…