With both France and Greece deciding to jump out of the left-wing frying pan into the even-more-left-wing fire, European fiscal policy has become quite a controversial topic.

FORBES: Paul Krugman and the European Austerity Myth

The jury's split decision on the conspiracy count left in question with whom Mr. Pan conspired, the defendants' attorneys said.

WSJ: Guilty Verdicts in Liu Trial

Indeed, the co-operation that the PAN has managed to secure from the centre-left Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), whose backing was vital to previous reforms to Mexico's tax and pension laws, may already be starting to fray.

ECONOMIST: Proposals to reform Mexico's oil industry are stalled

They agreed, however, that any pan-European ban could be construed as an infringement of freedom of speech and might be better left to national governments.

BBC: NEWS | Europe | EU rejects Communist symbol ban