Which ever view you take, the result is that energy taxes are effectively an anathema for Labour and politically toxic with the general public.

"Any new property tax will of course be fiendishly complex to design in a way that raises serious money without being politically toxic," he noted.

But the White House front office saw the release as politically toxic, and stood in its way.

PX is far from being the most dangerous of China's chemical facilities, but it has proved politically toxic.

Mr. Ferrer said the mayor had "reversed field" on the question, but he declined to echo a reporter's use of the politically toxic phrase "flip-flop."

The point is that this issue is politically toxic, and a real danger to Koh's confirmation, if it's mishandled.

That argument is pushing the politically toxic, multibillion-dollar farm subsidies of Europe and the United States to the center of the debate.

But Merkel is standing firm, saying she will not let markets dictate policy as she regards these bonds as politically toxic.

But even the hint of inflation is politically toxic in Germany and ideologically offensive to the E.C.B.

According to the "politically toxic" proposal, the city would stop investing in troubled neighborhoods and divert funds to communities "that could still be saved."