An economic crisis that began as a drama, or even a tragedy, is descending into farce. It is bad enough at home, what with Labour and the Tories arguing over whose spending cuts will be the nastiest, when the real issue is what it will mean for Britain to have a budget deficit that might reach 15 per cent of GDP next year. Abroad, however, things are taking an even more absurd turn, with the world’s two supposedly most important countries, America and China, descending into a trade row about Chinese car tyres and American chickens.
Moreover, we are entering a packed season of international summitry, with the G20 countries meeting in Pittsburgh this week to put the world to rights in a trendily broad and inclusive way, just ahead of the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund in Istanbul. But what are they planning to do? They will talk mainly about bankers’ bonuses. They will do so in a format seemingly designed to prevent proper thought or decision-making, or at least long speeches from Nicolas Sarkozy and Gordon Brown: the world’s mightiest heads of government will meet for just a dinner and a morning, giving them about five minutes each to get their points across.
Amid this comedy, the most important topic in international economic policy will not be discussed at all, either in private or in public. The silence on this vital issue is partly because it is complex. Mainly, however, our global leaders will be silent for an unfunny but alarming reason: to avoid offending one among their number, China.
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