Sacred cows finally begin to face overdue cull

Are the sounds we heard on Monday and Tuesday those of people who have finally realised that the time to pay the piper has arrived?

Or were they the sounds, as an old colleague used to describe, of the start of the ritualistic raindance that presage any negotiations with union leaders — all for effect with little real meaning?

Given the track record of this and several previous governments, we cannot even hazard a guess. However, we can be certain that the current policy of ‘what we have we hold’ was not, is not, and will not be sustainable.