Fadil heard a thumping sound coming from the basement.

The errant MPs were rapidly silenced, and the visitor received a table thumping welcome from the rest of the House.

Instead, in the UK and elsewhere, the predictable MFF chest thumping that is now underway threatens to dispatch this kind of opportunity to the bin beneath the negotiating table.

Chest thumping exceptionalism has given way to a more sober patriotism, in which ordinary citizens recognize the long term trends eroding the promise of equal opportunity, particularly the shortcomings that beset the country s health care, education, and infrastructure systems.