- Wed Nov 21, 2012 11:18 pm
#272324
The great man has come 15th out of 19 in the FT's annual ranking of European Finance ministers.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/617b5920-3324 ... z2CtxE5nHl" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Out of the four he beats, three are new to the job, so haven't had anything like the chance he's had. So basically he's the worst apart from Hungary. The summary says:
The people doing the ranking are not hostile to him. He came 3rd last year (though again, IIRC, was not that good on economics).
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/617b5920-3324 ... z2CtxE5nHl" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Out of the four he beats, three are new to the job, so haven't had anything like the chance he's had. So basically he's the worst apart from Hungary. The summary says:
That's putting it rather kindly. And on economic rating, which you'd think was the most important, he comes 16th.The 41-year-old Conservative career politician has found his third year in charge of the economy his toughest. He had hoped for modest growth to start this year, accelerating as the year progressed. Instead, the economy has contracted and, although employment has grown strongly, is no bigger than in the second half of 2010. This has undermined the coalition government's deficit reduction plan, and the public finances are likely to be repaired only in 2018. The challenge for 2013 is to show the economy can grow while the deficit is being reduced. For that, Mr Osborne will need a fair wind from still-troubled banks, the eurozone and global commodity price rises, which have undermined the economy as much as spending restraint. More than anything, he needs to inject confidence into companies. Another year of stagnation and he will look replaceable should the government want to change direction.
The people doing the ranking are not hostile to him. He came 3rd last year (though again, IIRC, was not that good on economics).