The G20 agreement in reality

The G20 meeting in April was portrayed by the tame media in the UK and USA as a triumph for Gordon Brown and Barack Obama respectively. The figure of $5 trillion total investment was bandied around and a $1.1 trillion programme of support to restore credit, growth and jobs in the world economy was headlined. I blogged that these figures were rubbish and then pointed the way to the Tax payers Alliance website who pointed out the inherent inconsistencies in the announced figures. The BBC were happy to parrot the Gordon Brown line, after all there were local and EU elections in the offing and labour seats to try and protect.

Today, The Times reports that:

"Alistair Darling is scrambling to plug a gaping hole in the $1.1 trillion global rescue package agreed by G20 leaders in London — hailed at the time as Gordon Brown’s biggest success.

...

At the end of the G20 summit in April, the Prime Minister claimed to have built a “new consensus” among world leaders and was lauded for his role in securing the rescue deal. But a follow-up summit this month in Pittsburgh will take place against the backdrop of undelivered pledges and wrangles over how to curb bankers’ pay.

Officials admit that almost $200 billion (£123 billion) pledged in credit facilities for the International Monetary Fund has yet to materialise. Most embarrassingly, the shortfall includes $75 billion due from the European Union. The Chancellor has warned Europe to set an example and do more to meet the target of $500 billion. Britain has agreed to lend up to $15 billion to poorer economies and is willing to provide up to $11 billion more as part of an EU package. So far, none of the extra credit has been called in by the IMF, although government insiders believe that it will be needed to prop up struggling economies before long."

The BBC report the matetr somewhat differently, emphasising the role of the UK government with a piece headed "'Job not done', Darling tells G20 ". Apparently:

"The Group of 20 richest nations should not be complacent as the global economy starts to recover, UK Chancellor Alistair Darling has said."