End of an Era

Two of Europe most enduring and resilient political figures are heading for the door.  George Papandreou and Silvio Berlusconi have to greater or lesser extents dominated Greece and Italy's political scenes in recent years and both have run out of luck. 

It remains to be seen who will replace them and how successful they will be in recasting the economies of these two nations but we are seeing the end of an era in each of these countries. 

Proving the adage that there is never a dull moment when Nicolas Sarkozy is around reports have just emerged of a conversation with US President Barack Obama in which Nick calls Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a "liar"! Obama replies moaning about having to deal with Netanyahu on a daily basis.I feel his pain!

The interesting insight  is even more fascinating because of what it says about the media. In France this has so far gone unreported due to the deference of the French press while the Israeli press have made a meal out of this.