BRITISH PRIME minister Gordon Brown has warned Americans against a protectionist response to the “economic hurricane” that has swept the world, declaring that Europe now has its most pro-American leadership in living memory.
Addressing the joint houses of Congress yesterday morning, Mr Brown said that, in common with many of today’s most pressing challenges, the economic crisis requires a global response.
“No matter where it starts, an economic crisis does not stop at the water’s edge. It ripples across the world,” he said.
“Climate change does not honour passport control. Terrorism has no respect for borders. And modern communications instantly span every continent. The new frontier is that there is no frontier, the new shared truth is that global problems need global solutions.”
Mr Brown praised President Barack Obama, comparing the president’s optimism with that of Franklin D Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan and the prime minister took a veiled swipe at former defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who famously divided Europe into old and new. “There is no old Europe, no new Europe, there is only your friend Europe,” he said.
“So once again I say we should seize the moment – because never before have I seen a world so willing to come together. Never before has that been more needed. And never before have the benefits of co-operation been so far-reaching.” Mr Brown will host a meeting next month of the leaders of the Group of 20 leading industrialised nations and he called yesterday for a “global new deal” to tackle the recession.
“First, so that the whole of the worldwide banking system serves our prosperity rather than risk it, let us agree rules and standards for accountability, transparency, and reward that will mean an end to the excesses and will apply to every bank, everywhere, and all the time,” he said.
“Second, America and a few countries cannot be expected to bear the burden of the fiscal and interest rate stimulus alone. We must share it globally. So let us work together for the worldwide reduction of interest rates and a scale of stimulus round the world equal to the depth of the recession and the dimensions of the recovery we must make.”
Mr Obama yesterday ordered an overhaul of the way the federal government awards contracts to the private sector, ending the Bush administration’s practice of choosing contractors without competition. He said the new rules could save the government up to $40 billion a year by improving transparency and strengthening oversight, particularly in the area of defence, where an inquiry last year found cost overruns of $295 billion in 95 major projects.
“In Iraq, too much money has been paid out for services that were never performed, buildings that were never completed, companies that skimmed off the top. At home, too many contractors have been allowed to get away with delay after delay after delay in developing unproven weapon systems,” Mr Obama said.
"It's time for this waste and inefficiency to end. It's time for a government that only invests in what works." Mr Obama continues to enjoy strong popular support despite the economic crisis, with two out of three Americans saying they feel "hopeful" about his leadership and plans, according to a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll published yesterday.
The poll showed a sharp rise in the proportion of Americans who say the US is headed in the right direction since Mr Obama’s January inauguration, up to 41 per cent from 26 per cent in mid-January from 12 per cent before last November’s election.