In a speech to business executives here, he said the candidates were also trying to discredit the election with "intransigent positions."

That was rightly seen as a ludicrously intransigent position.

The remark was a notable departure from his previous intransigent position on Congressional budget proposals and the tax increases they call for.

"This difficult situation has been made more complex and emotional because of the intransigent position taken by Citibank regarding concessions to debtors," he said.

These issues are too important to struggling families and to our economy for the Tea Party's intransigent position to be the last word.

"The Sandinistas have maintained the intransigent position that the rebels must first surrender and return to civilian life," the radio said.

"He has to shore up his strength, and he can't by taking an intransigent position," he said.

With this many competing issues and some intransigent positions staked out in advance, it's hard to be optimistic about the Bali negotiations.

The consequence was that intransigent positions were soon staked out on the correct modes of biblical interpretation.

For at least a further two decades that was to be the reality of an intransigent British position.