If the unions cannot be tamed, Mr Peña's other reforms to open up the monopolised energy sector and overhaul the tax system may be similarly diluted.The runner-up in the election was the left-winger Andrés Manuel López Obrador, known as AMLO, who came a very close second to Mr Calderón in 2006 but lost to Mr Peña by 6.8%.
This, in my view, is the long-term benefit of a vigorous competition policy, which is achieved not only through merger control, but also through the control of subsidies, the fight against cartels and the opening-up of previously monopolised sectors.
Part of the difficulty lies in India's federal system, under which electricity is a "concurrent" subject, where both the central government and the 29 states have a role.Except in a few cities that remained exempt, distribution was monopolised by state electricity boards (SEBs).
That relationship has traditionally been monopolised by the bookshops, and even they rarely keep track of what individual customers like.
The living-room television is being monopolised by her father, who is watching sport.
In the previous election, in 2000, Mr Chen won only because the KMT, who had monopolised power in Taiwan since they fled there from the mainland in 1949, were split; this time, they were back together.
Ironically, though, the call-girl market in Poipet is monopolised by the Thais' traditional enemy in Cambodia, the Vietnamese.
Instead of citizens being free to make their own choices and mistakes through the processes of direct democracy, power and responsibility are monopolised by the political parents.As any experienced parent will tell you, the best way to stop children laying blame on others is to make them responsible for their own decisions, even if that means letting them make their own mistakes.
When Algerians speak of le pouvoir (power), Saudis "the family", Egyptians al-hukm ("the decision") and Lebanese their "political elite", all describe a tight circle of people linked by shared background and common interests, who have monopolised power for as long as anyone can remember.
Nor is its wealth monopolised by a well-connected clique.
He is the first to admit he may lack the necessary experience.According to the norms of Japanese politics, Mr Edano is young for the job, and he takes over a party whose funding and strategy have been monopolised by Mr Ozawa.
