The Independent: UK - Politicians' acts of denial give the game away - by Stephen King

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UK - Politicians' acts of denial give the game away - by Stephen King

When it all begins to go wrong, politicians typically adopt one of three strategies. They deny. They claim it's worse elsewhere. Or they blame others for their woes. The UK economy must, then, be going horribly wrong. Our political leaders adopted all three tactics last week, thereby betraying their deep-rooted fears. Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, offered the denial. In an interview with the BBC, Mr Brown said: "We've seen house prices rise by about 180 per cent over the last 10 years and they have risen by about 18 per cent over the last three years, so a 2.5 per cent fall is something that is containable. "Mr Brown's decision to blame the US for the world's economic woes is nonsense. It's certainly true that the US has major economic problems. It's also true that, after the slippage in the US economy over the last few months, people are becoming increasingly worried about economic prospects in the UK. But it doesn't follow that there is a causal link running from the US to the UK. In truth, the shock facing the UK economy is remarkably similar to the shock facing the US economy because both countries chose, a few years ago, to do a deal with the debt devil. For every increase in US house prices, there's been an increase in UK house prices. For every rise in US household debt, there's been an increase in UK household debt. And, for every widening of the US balance of payments current account deficit, there's been a corresponding expansion of the UK deficit." Note EU-Digest: "The main culprits behind this present day world-wide economic disaster are Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. It was their "contribution" that neo-liberal programs antithetical to the interests of the majority could be imposed in a western democracy if one was ruthless enough to exploit certain situations. For Thatcher, the war with Argentina over the Falklands in 1982 was a heaven-sent opportunity to enlist jingoism in the service of radical economic programs, one of her tactics being to portray the labor unions as the “enemy from within.” Thatcher’s tactics prefigured those of George W. Bush in the aftermath of 9/11, when he and his crew exploited the hysterical state of the US population to declare a “war on terror” that was meant to kick-start a new phase of the neo-liberal enterprise. Well known Canadian journalist and author Naomi Klein labels this “disaster capitalism.” Unfortunately Mr. Brown is saddled with the legacy of his predecessors. At the same time a majority of the British still believe in their "sacred sovereignty" and look towards the EU as a threat, instead of embracing it and getting rid of the US economic noose."