You could call it a moment to savour for Mervyn King. This week the governor of the Bank of England starts his second five-year term. By popular account he has lately seen off both the prime minister and the chancellor. Politicians come and go. The governor has a higher calling.

Granted, Mr King has had to explain why inflation has broken through the top of the official target range and will likely stay there for many months. No one blames him, though, for soaring energy and food prices. That is all Gordon Brown’s fault. As for the global credit crisis and the failure of Northern Rock, the culprit quite obviously is Alistair Darling, the chancellor.