Belmoktar remains associated with this fissiparous group -- but is very much his own man.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

But America is fissiparous enough without widening the cracks by insensitive public behaviour.

ECONOMIST: John Rocker, under fire

Yet even as the new money was giving a shine to the country's ailing finances, cracks were appearing in Mr Deuba's own, fissiparous, Nepali Congress party.

ECONOMIST: A general election is called

Mr Johnson would probably pull back in some disillusioned English voters, maybe avoiding the utter, fissiparous general-election rout that now seems likely (it would help if he were to set a date for the election straight away).

ECONOMIST: Bagehot