But it has also covered the government's stated intention of giving new weight to China's own culture, and the relative merits of observing traditional holidays rather than socialism's sacred Labour Day.

ECONOMIST: China's public holidays: Golden weeks or silver days? | The

How else is a Labour chancellor, who has taken a sacred oath of prudence, to make his mark?

ECONOMIST: Toil and muddle

The defence minister, Ehud Barak, who leads the Labour party, refuses to hear of cutting the military budget, an Israeli sacred cow.

ECONOMIST: Israel??s economy looks quite resilient