Re: Chancellor Merkel not ready for Step 2, til we see the effects of Step 1.

On Mar 15, 7:29 am, GLOBALIST <free.tun...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Merkel tips Brown's grand plan into crisis

Germany's Chancellor receives French backing as she uses a London
meeting to warn against proposals to pump billions more into the
global economy

By Jane Merrick and Brian Brady

Sunday, 15 March 2009

Warning words: Angela Merkel cautions Gordon Brown at their Downing
Street press conference yesterday

Gordon Brown's grand plan to save the global economy was in crisis
last night when the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, refused to
commit to a new global fiscal stimulus package to steer the world out
of recession.

In a pointed warning to the Prime Minister, the German leader said it
was too early to measure the effects of the first multibillion-dollar
stimulus to give the go-ahead for any more state aid.

Mrs Merkel was backed up by Christine Lagarde, the French Finance
Minister, who said nations needed to assess the impact of earlier
measures before making any further tax and spend decisions

 Different strokes for different folks - the only conclusion for the
summit
Mrs Merkel's remarks, made in a press conference alongside Mr Brown
after talks in Downing Street, cast a shadow over yesterday's G20
meeting of finance ministers in Horsham, West Sussex, and Britain's
attempts to secure a lasting rescue plan in the wake of the world's
worst economic crisis since the 1930s.

France and Germany, two of Europe's largest economies, are reluctant
to back the moves, instead calling for tougher financial regulation.

Finance ministers and central bank governors from the G20 group of
rich and emerging nations, hosted by the Chancellor, Alistair Darling,
tried to steer clear of the rift by agreeing a package of measures,
including pumping more cash into the International Monetary Fund to
rescue struggling countries. They also pledged to boost bank lending
and to support developing nations. But there was no agreement on who
would provide the money to the IMF.

In a blueprint for a meeting of G20 leaders, which is due to take
place in London on 2 April, the finance ministers vowed to make a
"sustained effort" to revive the global economy.

At the Downing Street press conference, Mrs Merkel said that Germany
had already committed 4.2 per cent of GDP to a fiscal stimulus,
putting her country at the "vanguard" of the global rescue effort.

Asked whether additional money was necessary, she said: "Nothing has
actually taken effect on the ground yet. If we want to make real
impact you really must implement the package first before you talk
about the next step."

The German Chancellor said it was for individual countries to decide
on further tax and spend decisions, adding: "We will talk to our
parliamentarians about that."

Germans did not suffer the same problems with home loan and credit
card debt that Americans had, she said, adding: "We must return to a
solid, sustainable fiscal policy after the crisis. So we have got to
signal to markets that on the one hand we are

tackling the crisis decisively and that, on the other, we will
permanently avoid excessive global imbalances."

Speaking in Horsham, Mr Lagarde said that nations needed "to evaluate
the remedies already put in place".

The tensions undermined Mr Brown's attempts to present a united front
with Germany ahead of the London summit. The Prime Minister said: "I
think you will find that countries will be agreeing together about
what we are going to do in future, both in fiscal and monetary policy
and in the regulatory system. I believe that we are setting a path
with the G20 where, one by one, we are reaching agreement on the big
issues for the future."

Mr Brown and Mrs Merkel agreed on the need for tougher regulation of
hedge funds, and were confident they would secure American backing.
But the rift was seized on by the Conservatives, who are seeking to
make political capital out of David Cameron's apology on Friday for
not anticipating the recession.

The Shadow Chancellor, George Osborne, said: "Hopefully this weekend
Gordon Brown has learnt his lesson that he should stop trying to use
the international stage to fight his domestic political battles, and
instead focus on getting international agreement on banking reform and
trade that really would have a stimulating effect."

The US Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, praised the "broad-based
consensus globally on the need to act aggressively to restore growth".

--------------------------------------------
Interesting how we have to readjust to dialouge and discussion and
disagreements after 8 years of a "decider knowing all the answers".

I'm glad to see some adult thinking from Germany and France in the
face of US and British incompetancy.

Charlie
.

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