Some of the issues that need to be addressed, he says, are the lack of any tax on aviation fuel, fiscal incentives for alternative-fuel vehicles, and the need for a carbon tax to replace the government's ill-directed climate-change levy.

ECONOMIST: The Liberal Democrats

What was left included tax breaks for home improvements and fiscal incentives for companies to hire highly qualified staff, along with measures to boost energy efficiency and ease credit for small firms.

ECONOMIST: Italians fret that they may end up going the same way as Spain