Another Fine Mess

Pride goes before a fall. We all know that. Well, all of us except Sarkozy and Merkel, the government heads of France and Germany, respectively. The former has boasted that he will never turn his back on the Euro, in spite of the recent bailouts of Ireland and Greece, and the potential need to bailout Spain, Portugal and Italy. Tough and, perhaps, very expensive words.

He either has considered or won’t admit that the Euro may turns its back on them. Portugal is already having second thoughts about the currency. The United Kingdom very sensibly has stayed out since the early 1990s, and a number of countries on the “fringes” are re-examining their circumstances to see if it’s time for them to jump, too.

Germany may have the biggest economy in the eurozone, with France running second, but the two of them combined are no more able to bailout the rest of Europe than the US can arm the rest of the world.

Dr John E. D. Riggs, a former professor of mine taught me that “money is power, and power is money.” The European Union is the perfect example of that statement. Any erosion in the size of the eurozone represents a tangible loss of power by France and Germany, something they both want to avoid. Because, according to Dr Riggs, the one thing a politician wants more than anything else is to be re-elected.

In Europe, the politicians have overcome that hurdle, too. Many of them who failed to achieve that at home have been appointed as EU commissioners . . . for life.

Here we go again!

The Independent newspaper reports that Ed Milliband, the latest leader of the Labour party and now in opposition, will admit that while they were in power, they mishandled the economy; or to use his words, were “too slow.”

Well, bless my soul! It’s so good of you to come clean and ‘fess up. We’ve known it for years. Who did you think you were kidding, Mr Milliband?

And you know what? You”re still too slow. Dead in the water. No petrol. No engine. No boat, and apparently no captain.

In the picture shown on the right, I can even see it in your eyes. “I’m making this up as I go along. Where are we?”

You want to tell him: “Ask the electorate. They seem to know more than you do!”

Why is it that politicians, and others, find it so difficult to admit they’re culpable when everyone else knows they are, and even says so? I remember telling the Conservatives, when they were in power with a substantial majority, that they needed to admit their mistakes of the recent past. I was met with the same reluctance.

Some managers make exactly the same error. They think that by admitting their mistakes, it’s a sign of weakness. What they fail to realize is that humility requires courage, and therefore is an act of strength. Yes, it’s counterintuitive; but it’s the truth.

But, that’s a separate issue!

Geoff Hoon, former Secretary of State for Defence in the UK’s Labour Party, tried to minimize the importance of the documents released by Wikileaks. He pointed out, correctly, that they were the opinions of various government officials around the world, and not the policies of the countries concerned.

That’s as maybe, Geoff. But, if the documents are so innocuous, why were they classified in the first place?

It’s the economy, stupid!

It’s been less than 20 years since George H W Bush lost his bid for a second presidential term to Bill Clinton; and you will probably remember that the mantra adopted by US citizens which followed that was, “It’s the economy, stupid!”

The news reports today, following the reversal of President Obama’s fortunes, bear a striking resemblance to that fateful election in 1992. After only two years in office, he himself has admitted that people are dissatisfied with the pace of improvement in the economy. Well, duh!

One or two terms?

Reagan talked about being a one-term president, but acted like a two-term one. Not long ago, however, Obama started behaving like a one-term president; and he did it by pursuing just one policy: Peace in the Middle East. (If you’re any sort of a thinker, you’ll know already that this is unachievable because the goals of the Israelis and the Palestinians are mutually exclusive.)

In modern times, no president to my knowledge, has attempted to solve the Israeli-Arab problem until the second term, probably because there were so many other things to worry about in the first. Apparently, this is something that Obama overlooked.

Is it time for a change?

Obama was elected on a platform for change, which really amounted to anyone but George W! The change, however, turned out to be worse than what America had started with. By failing to press the then candidate on the changes he had in mind, if he had any at all, the US simply jumped from the frying pan into the fire.

Political football

The Republicans have already avowed to reverse as much of Obama’s legislation as possible. That means that, as far as they’re concerned, Congress has wasted the last two years. It’s not called “political football” for nothing.

Tea Party

It’s been more than 150 years since the Republican Party was first formed. The question is, has it run its course? The Tea Party seems to think so, and so do a considerable portion of American society. In this mid-term election, they won five senatorial seats and one gubernatorial contest. The Republicans have already accused them of denying them control of that House.

One of the things that I find particularly interesting, however, is that Tea Party senators have pledged to vote for legislation that supports an agenda that’s more conservative than the Republicans. Therefore, all that any party has to do is craft laws that appeal to them, and it will be an automatic shoe-in. This is another duh.

Physics & politics

It may be too early to call, but I believe that the balance of power in the United States has lurched to the right. More than 500 years ago, Sir Isaac Newton said this would happen. He wasn’t forecasting the outcome of political elections in a country yet to be formed. He simply said that for every action there’s an equal and opposite reaction.

Welcome to the other side.