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Politicians and rulers throughout the ages have shown a marked reluctance to relinquish powers granted to them in an emergency. In around 450BC the farmer Cincinnatus left his humble steading to take the absolute authority conferred upon him by the Roman state to enable him to quell civil unrest and to defend the Republic. However, Cincinnatus’ fame lies principally not in having accomplished this task but in giving up that authority voluntarily afterwards. It is all too tempting not to relinquish power, a decision that can always be justified by pointing to the prospect that another crisis might emerge.