The schmoozer of Davos prepares to bare his teeth
In the week of the World Economic Forum Rani Singh talks to Angel Gurría, head of the OECD, who has sharp words on capitalist ‘schizophrenia’ and a coded warning for Gordon
‘Because of the miners’ strike we were all asked to have only one light bulb on. My wife and I had to take baths together in order to economise on heating the water and since then we’ve always taken baths together, for 35 years,’ booms Angel Gurría in a surprising aside, recalling Ted Heath’s premiership. The 57-year-old was then an MA Economics student at Leeds University. He is now secretary-general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
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john problem
January 24th, 2008 11:56amWhat a success Davos would be if these great intellects started thinking about how the financial system could be improved and rendered more stable. Have any good ideas ever come out of this august gathering? What is its purpose? If Alastair Darling will not be present but Emma Thompson will, is this a possible indicator of of who will be our next Chancellor? She would seem to qualify on two counts - almost certainly an equivalent knowledge of economics, if not more, and far more charisma.
mark
January 25th, 2008 1:53amtThe warning signs were very clear and have been for a long time. Cash is king!! - "never a borrower or a lender be" remember that? - but instead we have had agressive advertising to people to not just buy a product, but, worse, to refinance a house, consolidate debt etc. To switch capital expenditure (house payments) into operational costs (Plasma TVs, holidays) is and always was complete madness. Did no-one see that the principles of accounting rules apply equally to a household account? We even see adverts to convert a future pension into cash today..? Maybe this is just the downside of capitalism? Or the inevitable outcome of individual "greed" and a desire to satisfy that NOW.
Colonial Mike
January 25th, 2008 7:23amBono at Davos? And I was always under the impression that pop star's talents lay in pop music, chemical substances and furious copulation, generally with multiple partners. Whose next? The idiotic Geldorf? "Posh" Spice? "Kicker" Spice? Mike Tyson?
Brenda Elvin
January 26th, 2008 8:22amGreat article, it's nice to see the human face (and thoughts) of leader's of large organisations.