“Even eastern Europe is catching up with our sluggish GDP.” Last month, Tim Harford wrote in the Financial Times after visiting Germany, “This is what prosperity looks like – and the UK doesn’t have it.” In the same paper, another respected data journalist, John Burn-Murdoch, calculated that without London, the UK would be poorer, in terms of GDP per capita, than even the poorest US state, Mississippi.

“Why has Britain become so poor?” asked the Sunday Times in July.

This summer, however, the unease about this country’s performance became more public. It’s easier to put envy of other societies down to the sun and long lunches we enjoy in them, and move on. Differences in customs, social values and the worth of currencies also make precise comparisons with other countries difficult.

Yet usually this sense of inferiority doesn’t linger, as the parochial nationalism of much of our media discourages such unpatriotic thoughts, and the particularly demanding rhythms of British working life reassert themselves.

Comparing our quality of life unfavourably with the rest of Europe’s is a traditional post-holiday ritual for some Britons, as another underwhelming British summer peters out.

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