David Cameron has arrived at the G20 summit in Toronto in a stronger position, and perhaps a happier mood, than most of his fellow heads of government. This was the week in which his Coalition came of age, thanks to a finely balanced Budget that – despite unprecedented austerity – was generally well received by both the markets and the British public. George Osborne has ensured that, in crucial respects, the Prime Minister will be ahead of the curve at the G20: the UK's economic programme demonstrates to world leaders not just a willingness to undertake fiscal retrenchment, but also the route to achieving it.
Take the subject of pensions. Most Western countries face a pensions time bomb; this week, the Government began to defuse our own, by announcing a review that could force workers to retire at 70. It is true that Germany now expects public sector workers to retire at 67; but the British proposals are in a class of their own, exhibiting a realism that, in a more prosperous era, might have looked like brutality. In general, this week saw the United Kingdom moving beyond headline figures to a breakdown of cuts that tells us how the burden of pain will be distributed.
