Sometimes it must seem like an uphill struggle.Regrettably, there is often a world of difference between what the media reports and what is actually said, but over-egged is hardly the expression for the way Mr King’s press conference on Wednesday to launch the Bank of England’s latest Inflation Report was covered. The outlook for the production management division was patchy, with “some signs of better trading conditions in certain sectors and regions”.He said sales to food and beverage producers were rising and oil and gas was improving. International assistance is needed to ensure the transitional government survives until the national elections planned for 2005 But the UN mission here, Monuc, is badly overstretched. But 1,000 miles to the east, in the crucible of the conflict, there are no such certainties.

Deep inside the forest, the plane plunged towards the dense canopy of trees. By the time the dead are buried in a state funeral, Italy’s distaste for military risk may have returned. But yesterday, in a week when Italy suffered more wartime fatalities than in the past 40 years and 50 more carabinieri flew to Iraq to replace their fallen and traumatised comrades, a changed mood was palpable across the country. Rather than a raucous demand for withdrawal, a snap opinion poll for La Repubblica newspaper, carried out after the massacre, indicated that most Italians were in favour of staying in Iraq.Augusto Minzolini, a journalist with La Stampa newspaper, said: “There is a spirit of national pride in the air which is rare to find in this country. The public is showing a strong emotion of solidarity with the military forces.

Instead of blaming the government, there is a consciousness of sacrifice that has not been found in Italy before.”Fabrizio Cicchitto, an adviser to the Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, admitted: “Until today, many of us did not realise we were a country at war. Perhaps this drama will wake us up.”Those who met Mr Berlusconi after the bombing said the Prime Minister seemed profoundly shocked by the tragedy. Mr Minzolini of La Stampa said: “An optimist by nature, he is genetically ill-prepared to deal with tragedy.”But this particular ill wind promises to bring him some immediate good. In a country perennially unhappy about its image abroad, it has boosted Italy’s international prestige, with the front pages of the world’s newspapers cleared for coverage of Wednesday’s atrocity.