So where did all this hype and hoopla go, two years into this government’s tenure? Into a black hole called reality. The truth is that you must have more than imported help to make things happen. You need focus, hard slog and commitment. A clear sense of direction also helps. Above all, you need an understanding of how the system works before you can improve it. But sadly, none of Khan’s A Team seems to have bothered to do their homework.

The alleged sponsors thought the prime minister’s long exposure to London would make him an acceptable figure in the West. And Khan felt his friendships with English socialites would automatically grant him admission to the corridors of power. Alas, he has since learned that power does not reside in London’s nightclubs.

Luckily for him, he now has the Covid-19 pandemic to blame for his government’s woes. Earlier, the scapegoats were his predecessors.

Few politicians accept their own incompetence: it’s always somebody else’s fault that things are going badly. Trump has spent nearly four years blaming Obama, and the last few months have seen the American president defend his appalling handling of the pandemic.