The hype ahead of the G20 summit in London was inevitable and unfortunate.

Expectations, both positive and negative, were extraordinary. There were appeals to remember Africa, to make new inroads against poverty, to turn previous aid pledges into reality. There was talk that Russia and China would push ahead with their proposal to replace the US dollar with an alternative world reserve currency. There were demands for an end to tax havens.

It was clear from the outset that expectations had grown out of all proportion. The drama staged by French president Nicolas Sarkozy ahead of the meeting was a reminder, if one was needed, that consensus was no easy matter for those within the meeting rooms. This fact made all the more absurd the demands being made by protesters in the streets outside, however understandable the anger of those hard-hit by a crisis that they do not necessarily understand.

Sarkozy, however melodramatic his behaviour, had a point. The meeting needed to produce progress towards a new form of capitalism, in his terminology. The demand by Sarkozy, and German chancellor Angela Merkel on whose behalf Sarkozy claimed to speak, for far-reaching reform went beyond the more modest reform ambitions of other countries, and may not even have been in line with the tangible forms of assurance sought by the developing world.

Certainly, a number of criteria could be applied to assess the worth of the London G20 meeting, allowing for the fact that it was indeed just one event in a longer process - and these criteria could include improved regulation of banks and indeed, assistance for emerging economies for the sake of global stability.

Ahead of the summit, it was expected that the London meeting would produce agreement would hold a similar meeting again before the end of this year. Allowing for the fact that what may be termed the G20 process is about co-ordinating actions of individual blocs, countries - or even hemispheres, if you like - it would be a step forward if the process could move from crisis management to a detailed, and somewhat less hyped-up, process of reform.