However, it was not in doubt that the region had produced many authoritarian regimes and, until last year, some fantastic rates of economic growth.

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No doubt he would have pined less during the late 20th Century, when many parts of the region became something of a hardscrabble industrial centre -- but as local manufacturing faded in the 1970s, rural charm re-emerged.

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The region may not be far away from a potentially harmful bout of tax competition, which would no doubt attract the ire of more established EU members such as Germany and France.

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And while there's no doubt that the roads in the Sandy-stricken region are slick, it's also clear that the critical work of recovery continues.

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No doubt Mr Abbas, who is part of that generation of Arab leaders now feeling the heat of frustration across the region, hopes that he can seize the initiative, gaining popular support in the process.

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