In Greek mythology, Sisyphus is condemned to spend eternity rolling a massive boulder uphill, time after time, for no lasting gain.

Every time he gets it uphill, it escapes his grasp and rolls back to the bottom.

National Party Ministers of Finance, from Ruth Richardson on, could be forgiven for feeling like Sisyphus. Each spent most of their years in office struggling to turn fiscal deficits into surpluses, only to see the next Government turn them into deficits.

To read the full article on the NZ Herald website, click here.