This morning, I escaped from the ‘bubble'
for a while (more on that later), so I only arrived in the convention centre
around midday.
Delegates were not so lucky. In the first
week of a negotiation like this one, the formal talks splinter into a dizzying
array of smaller groups. Each is set up to focus on a contentious area where a
decision is needed. Later on, if a miracle occurs, the output from each group
is pieced together. Even more rarely, something coherent emerges.
If you think your government reps are
enjoying a holiday at taxpayers' expense, you're mostly wrong. Some of the
hotels in the main complex are very swanky, to be sure. But delegates mostly
work and sleep. If things hot up next week, which they probably will, sleep too
is dispensed with.