Just printing the story. Those bum chums Tony B and Gorden B really do make me puke. They will do anything but make the country strong. I like the USA as well, but see many "as like" problems too.
I do have faith in the working and non working population though. Never to be underestimated. They are tough doods and know stuff. Just passing along my observation. pb.
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No 10 Dampens Brown Imf Speculation
By Gavin Cordon, Whitehall Editor, PA News
Downing Street today attempted to quell speculation that Chancellor Gordon Brown could be set to leave the Government to take over as head of the International Monetary Fund.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said Mr Brown still had a “big job” to do running the British economy.
However the failure of No 10 or the Treasury to categorically rule out the Chancellor as a candidate for the IMF job left open the possibility that he could still be contemplating a dramatic career switch.
Rumours that he was being lined up as the new head of the world financial watchdog were sparked by the announcement on Thursday that the current managing director Horst Koehler was resigning to stand for the German presidency.
A front page report in The Guardian quoted IMF sources as saying Mr Brown was regarded as one of the top candidates to be his successor.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman described the suggestion as “speculation”.
“It seems to have come out of the States. Obviously the IMF is a big job but the Chancellor has got a big job here in the UK,” the spokesman said.
Earlier, a Treasury spokesman issued a guarded statement, saying that it was “far too premature” to comment.
There have been reports in the past suggesting the Chancellor was interested in a move to Washington to take over the IMF.
However few MPs believe he would consider leaving Government while he still had a realistic prospect of taking over from Tony Blair when he steps down as Prime Minister.
Mr Blair has publicly stated that he intends to lead Labour into the next general election.
However recent signs of an improvement in the at times tempestuous relationship between the two men has prompted speculation that Mr Blair has finally agreed to hand over the reins of power to the Chancellor early in the next Parliament.
The Labour former Chancellor Lord Healey today became the latest senior figure to urge Mr Blair to consider stepping aside for Mr Brown.
“He hasn’t got the charisma of Tony Blair but he does at least now start smiling, because ever since he met Sarah, and it is particularly since they had a child, I think he smiles a great deal and he’s a very attractive man, a very nice man,” he told BBC News 24.
“If you stay in the same job too long I think you tend to get too fixed in your manner of dealing with problems, and it’s time for a change in that sense, and I think that Gordon would do it very well.”
Mr Koehler’s decision to resign with immediate effect has put pressure on the IMF to find a successor quickly.
Although the job is traditionally held by a European, the US can use its voting power to block any candidate it opposes.
Mr Koehler was only elected in 2000 after Washington effectively vetoed Germany’s first choice, Caio-Koch Wesser.
If Mr Brown, who has strong ties with Washington, were to be put forward he would be unlikely to encounter such difficulties.
However, he may face greater problems in winning round the Europeans. He was widely seen as the main obstacle to a referendum on Britain joining the euro and has frequently clashed with the Commission in Brussels.
The issue of the new IMF managing director is likely to come up at a meeting of European finance ministers on Monday.
Other possible candidates being touted are Jean Lemierre, the French head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the British former head of the Bank for International Settlements, Andrew Crockett. |
