Another important point relates to the alleged reneging on the Government's programme and the fact that it somehow misled the electorate on the economy and hid the real figures. An article in the Irish Independent under the heading, McCreevy rules out pre-poll spending splurge, stated the following: "With polling day no more than four months away, Mr. McCreevy has made it clear he is going to keep a tight hold of the purse strings and will not allow spending to run out of control". This article was written on 16 January 2002, five months before the general election.