And there is near-universal conviction among ordinary Italians that they personally are poorer than they were 12 months ago.Yet the statisticians say otherwise, insisting that Italy's GDP grew by 1.8% in 2007, even if it is now slowing again (officials also dispute the Spanish superación (surmounting), but that is another matter).
Big obstacles remain, and diplomats privately acknowledge the long odds against surmounting them.
But he is much less sure of surmounting the two higher thresholds for pushing through constitutional change.The first of these is 330 seats, the number needed to make amendments that then have to be ratified in a popular vote a procedure used by the AK government last September, when it won a referendum to approve changes bringing the army and the judiciary under greater democratic control.
Creating them involves surmounting vast distances: Tijuana is roughly as far from Punta Arenas as the Shetland Islands are from Cape Town.
The cost varies by state and weight, as does the stamps' appearance (Nebraska's, with a skull surmounting a syringe and joint, looks like Grateful Dead tribute art).
Then again, the law has often met obstacles that appeared insurmountable, before soon surmounting them.
Although around two-thirds of Czechs oppose the radar, the government seems confident of surmounting the final hurdle, a vote in parliament.The Polish approach is more muscular.
After surmounting multiple obstacles over many years, Oksman's monograph proving the letter's authenticity (and sharpening its meaning) was published in the Soviet Union: a small victory, but a heroic one.But the lingering impression of Mr Etkind's book is absence.
A rare example of personal friendship and patriotism surmounting party interest.Loser: Abandoned by the West, and with a defeatist political elite unable to look beyond Russia, Moldova is sinking.
The monument consists of a semicircular pillared colonnade displaying statues of Hungarian kings and national leaders, with a statue of the archangel Gabriel surmounting a 118-foot-high central column.
Its mature medieval form consisted of three basic elements: a screen (known in England as a rood screen); a gallery, or loft, from which the words Jube, Domine, benedicere (hence jubé) were spoken; and a crucifix (rood) surmounting the whole.
