Look closely at the strange arithmetic that Congress uses to keep budget deficits within bounds.

FORBES: Take Your Chances

Moreover, although Mr Tremonti's repeated tax amnesties have seemed to keep annual budget deficits within bounds, the price of this may have been to increase Italy's already high level of tax evasion.

ECONOMIST: Why Italian politics is impossible

The Kremlin tried to manage the discontent, backing a plan by the billionaire businessman Mikhail Prokhorov to revive a pro-business political party that would help to keep the middle class within the bounds of the system in the December elections.

WSJ: Russia After Putin