Many thought that the real reason was that she was an outsider, a brainbox with a provincial background, not a member of the charmed circle of reformers in Warsaw.

ECONOMIST: Poland's shaky government

Then there is Mr Brown, the clunking brainbox impatient for his turn, who bragged as chancellor that he had commanded boom and bust to cease and was caught behind the knees as prime minister when the economy collapsed.

ECONOMIST: Andrew Rawnsley's political vivisection