Welcome to In Conversation, the regular podcast of InCompass. Go to InCompass-Heapest.com for free access to all our

podcast to date. This is Paul Adamson. I'm in conversation with Duncan Robinson. Duncan Robinson is the

Brussels Bureau Chief of The Economist and

writes the weekly Charlemagne column. Duncan, thank you for doing this. I'd like to start,

given that The Economist is a notoriously anonymous publication just by talking a bit about

you. Before you came to this job, you were a political correspondent for the Economist in London.

Before that, you were back here in Brussels for the financial time.

But this is your first time at writing a weekly column.

So first of all, what do you call the Charlemagne column?

Is it an op-ed column?

Is that a commentary?

What is its kind of nomenclature?

It's a column. It has a worldview. Every piece has an argument. Where it differs from other

columns is that it's not about me. You're the sort of custodian of this strange brand.

They're slightly less ego attached to it, because often that seems to be a

problem with commentators in general. They get very attached to their own opinions, whereas this is a

very good way of keeping the feet firmly on the ground. So you inherited a brand and you'll be

queer this brand to somebody else when you move into your next gig. Yes. You can pass it on.

Well, I noticed...

Try not to screw it up in the meantime.

Well, I'm just curious also, the life of an op-ed, right?

Anonymous with a by-line attached.

...