The shock that greeted the publication of the Book of Estimates served as a late reminder to the public of the pup sold to it by the Government in the run-up to the general election. During the three week election campaign the Minister and his colleagues repeatedly assured the media and the electorate at their daily press conferences that there would be no cuts or tax increases and that the public finances were in good order. The reality broke with the publication of the Book of Estimates. The public saw that the Government commitments, given so loquaciously during the election campaign, were in shreds.