Perhaps sporting success will neutralise public resentment, and the country will feel only pride at hosting a splendid games, fuelling new confidence in Britain's future.
As chairman of the Republican Governor's Association, Mr Christie enjoyed a splendid midterm season, inspiring confidence in his strategic savvy among Republican donors.
With a score less splendid or a cast lacking confidence, Mr. Strassberger's visual antics might have proved fatally overwhelming.
Riyad Mahrez had started the season slowly but his two goals, the first a splendid free-kick, should soothe his confidence.
Roger Ebert claimed that "Grant has flowered into an absolutely splendid romantic comedian" and has "so much self-confidence that he plays the British prime minister as if he took the role to be a good sport".
Expo 98, the fair held in Lisbon last year to mark the 500th anniversary of Vasco da Gama's voyage to India, offered a splendid opportunity for the Portuguese to display a new sense of confidence as worldly Europeans.
A splendid pass by Cole after 49 minutes sent Johnson clear but he lacked the confidence to finish with his left and cover arrived.
