What more can you say about the G20 meeting at a time of grave international economic crisis than this photo that is quickly making the rounds in various incarnations on websites and print media throughout the world? Clearly, these G20 world leaders know how to project a sense that they’re not throwing up their hands or being immobilized by the history-making challenges facing them and that they can dig their countries out of an ever-deepening financial hole.
But has it all been flash and no substance? Has the biggest development REALLY been President Barack Obama being seemingly everywhere as he debuted on the world stage?The big story here in the United States was one dealing less with substance than imagery: President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama visited the Queen. Cut to the videos…news stories…and the inevitable partisan rage-fest (The narrative: Obama gave her an Ipod!…It included his speeches…The Queen could have been insulted..It’ll be seen as a cheap gift you could get on sale at Best Buy…Michelle Obama broke protocol with the Queen…Yet, strangely, a search of Google doesn’t show any stories of outrage from the British government or Queen’s spokespeople — or even some anonymous British officials quotes blasting the Obamas. Haven’t they read the blogs yet? UPDATE: TimesOnline has this piece on the protocol — but it lacks the political anchor of the blog posts and isn’t an attack on Obama. Here’s the latest blog discussion on the Obama’s supposed slights.)
So has it been all smiles, thumbs-up photo ops and getting to know you sessions? Reports now suggest the outcome could be more than that. By one estimate, by the time the meeting is over, it could turn out that agreements will mean that $1 trillion of stimulus will be added to the world economy:
A new $1 trillion stimulus to the world economy could emerge from the G20 summit in London’s Docklands later today, officials say.
It will not be the co-ordinated fiscal injection that Gordon Brown and Barack Obama had been hoping for when the summit was called last November. On that there will be a strong commitment to “do what is necessary” and a timetable for action on top of the $2 trillion boost already announced by governments.
The big surprise today will instead be the sheer scale of the extra sums made available in new loans and other liquidity boosts, particularly to kickstart growth in the emerging markets of China and Latin America.
TimesOnline goes on to say in its report that the money would come in three packages.
So it’s a given that the meeting will produce some solid results? Time Magazine has its doubts — particularly on the issue of actual stimulus:
The sum is the proposed level of fiscal stimulus by G-20 nations identified in an early leaked draft of the final communiqué expected later today. But amid squabbling in the run-up to the meeting, with France and Germany especially vocal in their objections to making specific commitments, the figure has been recast as the collated estimate of measures already planned as the world tries to stave off a prolonged downturn, and participants are not being pressurized to agree to specific numbers. The latest leaked draft communiqué, seen by the news agency Reuters, makes no firm pledges on additional fiscal stimulus, saying simply “We are committed to deliver the scale of sustained effort necessary to restore growth.”
What’s likely to emerge in the end?
Officials confidently predict that there will be progress in reforming resources for financial institutions. In particular, they expect more than $100 billion in support for trade finance to be agreed, along with a doubling of resources for the IMF. Japan and the EU have already promised additional funds and more countries are expected to pledge additional money during the afternoon. The details on financial regulation are still being discussed but a 7-page addendum to the communique has already been prepared, suggesting that the bulk of detailed regulatory reform was agreed in advance. There may yet be sticking points, but on one thing at least, there’s consensus: the politicians here want to come away with a real agreement. Jittery markets and anxious voters won’t appreciate a fudge.
The APalso offers these details on substantive agreements that are likely to emerge:
Leaders from around the globe made headway Thursday on tackling the world’s worst financial crisis since the 1930s, with signs of agreements to give more money to the International Monetary Fund, clamp down on tax havens and tighten regulation over freewheeling hedge funds.
A British official said the Group of 20 rich and developing countries would likely approve giving more than $500 billion to the IMF so it can increase its loans to governments struggling because of the financial crisis. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because talks were ongoing.
Two other people close to the negotiations said France and Germany had persuaded the Group of 20 leaders to back tougher language in the final statement on stronger financial regulations to avoid a repeat of the current crisis.
According to this AP report, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown contended there had been strong unity among the leaders — an assertion which would contradict the ongoing media narrative before the meeting that strong philosophical and political differences could make it a rocky summit. Brown told the other leaders that the text that’s going around “reflects a very high degree of consensus and agreement between all of us,” Brown told his fellow leaders.”
But discussions were clearly honest: Britain’s Finance Secretary Stephen Timms characterized talks as “lively” — and said that countries that refused to agree to the new rules on regulating tax havens would face sanctions.
Still, is this all something that will look good on paper? Brown already has been blasted at home for raising high expectations about what the G20 can accomplish.
The Christian Science Monitor offers this primer on the G-20 meeting.
And here’s NBC’s take on today’s meeting and the context;
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Editorials and commentaries in Europe have been generally serious about the meeting, what is at stake, the obstacles and the realities facing any attempt to dig G20 nations out of this crisis.
But so far one phrase has been absent in European commentary: “I hope they fail.”
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.