Many media commentators pointed out throughout the UK’s General Election build-up that none of the main parties talked much about the pain that would result in the coming years from slashing spending to cut the national deficit.

There is, of course, a reason for that: misery is not the world’s best sales message.

Any voters with half a clue knew that that sort of drastic action was and still is inevitable; it just wouldn’t have won votes to rub our noses in it during the election campaign. Instead, the whole issue was neatly sidestepped as the leaders focused on other issues, parking the issue of the Age of Poo for the post-victory era. A sound PR approach, if winning the election is your objective.

Now, with the election done and the parties playing a waiting game, issuing holding statements to fend off nervousness while the formation of Government is eeked out behind closed doors, it is clear that the spin over the deficit has worn more than a little thin. Austerity is staring us in the face.

Which makes the way the markets have responded to uncertainty over who will govern look even more fickle.

Media coverage over the weekend about the tumbling pound and why the markets won’t wait for an election outcome just makes the financial markets look juvenile.

Yes the electorate also wants decisive Government to get on with tackling the deficit. But we haven’t had one for months, so what does an extra few days matter?

Yes the new Government needs to crack on straight away with tackling the deficit and not enough was said about that during the election campaign. But City people, wake up: that was the PR (not) talking.

Yes Government will have to suffer massive unpopularity to get all of this done. But we voted them in, kind of, more-or-less, in a round-about way. Subject to contract.

Already today, the looming likelihood of a Conservative/LibDem coalition is seeing the pound recover slightly. Good news, but yet more fickleness from markets swayed like toddlers with information taken at face value, rather than pausing to think about the bigger picture.