He was careful not to criticise his predecessor but, by definition, "long-standing issues" do not develop in a year.

In an interview today before the announcement, Mr. Levin refused to criticize his predecessor.

Mrs. Whitman had criticized her Democratic predecessor, Jim Florio, for using $1.5 billion in one-shot revenues to balance the current budget.

The Yanks were rebellious last year as players used anonymous newspaper quotes to criticize Showalter's predecessor, Stump Merrill.

In the campaign, Mr. Bush criticized his predecessor for entering regional conflicts without an exit strategy.

Again, developing the idea of power sharing, Sir Peter implicitly criticised his predecessor and his vision of the multi-agency approach.

Union officials often criticized White's predecessor, Frank Wilson, as autocratic, arrogant, and distrustful of the rank-and-file.

Mr. Rosenthal, the new head of the motor vehicle operators' local, suspected kickbacks and criticized his predecessor for spending $91,888 for a Christmas party in 1995.

It did not help that the Giuliani administration had criticized his predecessor, Mr. Bratton, for accepting similar trips.

He criticized his predecessor for warning that Argentina was on the brink of a devaluation or depression.