The ethos is no longer one of 'If you've got it, flaunt it', is it? It is all about the dark clouds on the economic horizon: global economic downturn, credit crunch, rising inflation, increased interest rates, budget cuts, fiscal responsibility, sharing the burden and so on.

Bill Leak

The economy is slowing down. But that was the goal of economic governance, wasn't it. Are we going to have some good old fashioned therapeutic politics along the lines of ' I feel your pain' as well? A sharing of the tears as it were.