As usual, tax cuts Italian-style are financed by tax increases: the €4 billion shortfall caused by the abolition this year of a controversial property tax will be offset by other fiscal measures. Diego Menegon of the Istituto Bruno Leoni reckons that under the Letta government the overall fiscal burden on taxpayers will decrease by €2.9 billion in 2013, but go up again by €870 million in 2014 and by the same amount in 2015.

Monti and Letta have guaranteed political stability at a time when chaos was the alternative. In September, the government resisted Berlusconi's attempt to overthrow it. The coalition proved resilient.

Involving everybody in the government makes everybody a potential culprit for its fall: this has proved to be a good strategy. Yet the sad truth is that grand coalitions do not ease out those with the power of veto: they reinforce them. Political parties know that a grand coalition is not for ever, so they manoeuvre to appease their constituencies with an eye on the next election.

Reforms can have long-term benefits for the whole of society, but they generate short-term losers. Short-term losers are angry voters. Building a popular consensus for reform is a difficult business; helping those with veto powers to collude doesn't make it any easier.