Later he was the guest speaker at a press gallery lunch, a semi-regular event in which a politician is invited to crack self-deprecating jokes ("My core philosophy is of the Onesie Nation!") and take questions from burping hacks.
He took a jocular swipe at David Cameron. At least, I think it was jocular. This month the Prime Minister will visit the Netherlands to give a speech about his views on the EU. As a proud polyglot, Mr Clegg has volunteered to translate the speech to the locals: "from double Dutch to just Dutch".
More seriously he spoke about the next general election. This, he forecast, would be "a sombre, gritty, realistic weighing-up of options among the electorate". Indeed, it would be "the first full-blown scarcity election".
Scarcity. That was a new one. Hacks glanced at each other, quizzical. Was scarcity nicer than austerity, or nastier? It sounded nastier. Quite a bit nastier, come to think of it. Scarcity.
Lord knows what the party slogans will be. "Vote Lib Dem! We pledge to starve 50 per cent fewer children than any other party!" Or, "A loaf of bread guaranteed for every town!"
Whoever wins, said Mr Clegg, pensioners' benefits are bound to be cut (he'd be "gobsmacked" if they weren't). "It's not going to be some sort of frothy, happy-go-lucky environment… We're going to have to make difficult savings... Painful period of adjustment…"
Like he said: obstinately optimistic.
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