  A purely algebraic method is devised in order to recover Slavnov-Taylor
identities (STI), broken by intermediate renormalization. The counterterms are
evaluated order by order in terms of finite amplitudes computed at zero
external momenta. The evaluation of the breaking terms of the STI is avoided
and their validity is imposed directly on the vertex functional. The method is
applied to the abelian Higgs-Kibble model. An explicit mass term for the gauge
field is introduced, in order to check the relevance of nilpotency. We show
that, since there are no anomalies, the imposition of the STI turns out to be
equivalent to the solution of a linear problem. The presence of ST invariants
implies that there are many possible solutions, corresponding to different
normalization conditions. Moreover, we find more equations than unknowns
(over-determined problem). This leads us to the consideration of consistency
conditions, that must be obeyed if the restoration of STI is possible.
