Thursday, 2 April 2009

G20 ends in a giant con

Posted By: Iain Martin at Apr 2, 2009 at 16:25:09 [General]
Posted in: Three Line Whip

So this is how it ends. The bun-fight at the Excel draws to a close and we get to see the final communiqué. And it is, I'm afraid, pretty much a giant public relations con.


The PM is gravely announcing a $1trillion "stimulus" for the global economy. But it's not the kind of stimulus which Brown has been wandering the world demanding - ie a further co-ordinated boost, involving increased spending or tax cuts by the major economies, to get demand going.


Instead there is $1 trillion for funding the IMF and other related trade business.


It involves: $500 billion funding of increased funding for the IMF, $250 billion of increased drawing rights for the IMF and a new trade finance package amounting to $200 billion. Is this all new money? Don't be silly. Is it being spent now? No. Where's it coming from? All will become clear when the deal is picked apart in the coming days, like a Gordon Brown budget.


There was some agreement on financial regulation - and mercifully the French did not get what they want in terms of tying the hands of just about anyone wanting to make any money in the financial markets.


But let's not forget what this was originally supposed to be about - what it was built up to be by the PM's own rhetoric: the day a massive further stimulus was announced to begin the recovery of the global economy.


That didn't happen, and for all the windy talk of global deals the French and the Germans won (thankfully), and Brown and Obama lost.

Posted by Britannia Radio at 23:29