For a long time, the parlous state of the economy was the main issue.
But parlous public finances may force politicians to face up to awkward choices.
China's water supply, too, is in a parlous state, thanks to ever-increasing industrial and agricultural use.
Mr Geithner, whose job is far more visible than Mr Summers, is in the more parlous position because of his rocky relationship with Congress.
They were demonstrating mainly against the parlous state of the economy; inflation is now thought to be over 50,000%, but the government has stopped counting.
How you judge him on the former depends in part on how much you deem him responsible for Britain's parlous situation in the first place.
Even before attending to the economy, which is in a parlous state after more than a decade of factional warfare, Mr Ouattara says he wants to focus on peace.
But there is a sweetener regarding Social Security (state pensions) : any savings made from that programme would go towards shoring up its parlous finances, rather than paying down the deficit.
