Chris Burford
London
At 12:49 24/03/99 -0500, you wrote:
>That's the New Statesman's take on Lafontaine's demise. I found the
>article -- by Christopher Huhne, a former business editor of the
>Independent, who's now group managing director and chief economist at
>the credit rating agency Fitch IBCA -- bleakly amusing. Here's a
>sample:
>
>"Like other ministers, finance ministers need an ear for their political
>constituencies. On this score, Lafontaine could not be faulted. He is
>capable of partisan oratory that few others can rival. But a racy turn
>of phrase with your supporters is not enough. Finance ministers also
>need an ear for the financial markets. In anything other than a command
>economy, they have to nurture what Keynes called the 'animal spirits' of
>business people. They have to understand the greed and the fear that
>motivates money, and respect its power. Failure to do so ultimately
>spells political disaster - and few left-wing governments get a second
>chance. This is not new, and it is nothing to do with globalisation. It
>is as old as Leon Blum's 'Popular Front' and the early British Labour
>governments."
>
>The whole article can be found at
>http://www.newstatesman.co.uk/199903190006.htm
>
>Carl Remick
>
>
>