Treasury mandarins are very bright people and especially adept at conjuring tricks. Their aim, like all good magicians, is to ensure the audience attention is on the theatrical flurry of curtains or puff of smoke, while missing the deception being quietly perpetrated on them. To that end, they have done a particularly fine job this week for their master, chancellor Alistair Darling who, Janus-like, has had to present two different faces, one to the UK electorate and the other to the global markets.
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