Wednesday, May 12, 2010

BRITAIN'S FLAWEDGIANT WHO LED BY EXAMPLE IN CRISIS

I like the analysis of this article published on FT, especially the 3 milestones Golden Brown has done.

"Gordon Brown's announcement that he will resign as Britain's Labour leader brings to an end an often turbulent three years as the nation's prime minister. But in many ways, his resignation marks much more than that.

It brings to an end a period of more than 20 years in which Mr Brown has been one of the dominant figures in British political and public life – first as one of the co-architects of New Labour, then as chancellor of the exchequer, or finance minister, and finally as premier.

For much of those two decades, Mr Brown was, alongside Tony Blair, one half of a duopoly that transformed the Labour party and made it one of the most successful machines in postwar politics. The contrast between the two men – Mr Blair the communicator and persuader, Mr Brown the economic strategist and preacher – could, at its best, make for a powerful combination able to sweep all before it."

Flawgiant:

"But at the heart of this pair was one fatal flaw: Mr Brown's determination that Mr Blair must one day step aside and that he should get the top job. Mr Brown succeeded in July 2007 in forcing his ally out. But hubris was soon followed by nemesis. Having got to Number 10 Downing Street, Mr Brown failed to take Labour to a fourth election victory after Mr Blair's hat-trick[In sports, a hat-trick means to achieve a positive feat in the sport three times during a game] of successes."

What advocates say:

He must be recognised for three immense achievements. First, as chancellor, he gave independence to the Bank of England and kept the UK out of the single European currency. This was at a time when many – notably Mr Blair and Peter Mandelson, another key New Labour figure – argued that Britain should go in. As Europe comes to terms with the immense crisis over Greece's finances, many in Britain will judge that decision to have been correct.

Second, his allies will ague that in 2002 he played a crucial role in resurrecting the UK national health service, taking British health spending as a proportion of GDP to the European average. His critics will argue that the injection of cash took place without adequate reform of the NHS's structure – and that billions were wasted. But Britain has not returned to the levels of underfunding in the 1990s that left patients lying unattended in hospital corridors.

The final achievement – and it is the one that will be most recognised outside the UK – is the role he played in the financial crisis of 2008. Mr Brown is widely recognised for his decision to launch Britain's bank recapitalisation plan, one followed by the US and Europe at a critical moment. Both this and the pioneering role he played in deploying the G20 group of countries to deal with the crash will be widely hailed by world leaders.

What detractors say:

"For all of that, there is much that Mr Brown's detractors will highlight on the debit side. The main charge against him will always be that he leaves office with the UK facing its most serious fiscal crisis since the second world war. Mr Brown's mantra as chancellor was that, under Labour, there would be no return to Tory “boom and bust”, a reference to how he believed the Conservatives had mismanaged the economy. Yet that phrase came to haunt him as the boom years ended in recession and a colossal deficit.

There are other failings too. One is his inability to connect with Britons. The first 10 years of New Labour were dominated by Mr Blair, the best communicator in modern British politics. But Mr Brown, a Scot, failed to click with the British electorate, often appearing dismissive.

Yet for all his flaws, one thing cannot be doubted: Mr Brown has for 20 years been a giant on the British political landscape, a Gladstonian figure with a constant claim to a “moral compass”. It will be years, decades perhaps, before Britain produces a political thinker and strategist on this scale again."

Cameron takes over in UK

David Cameron, the leader of Britain's Conservatives, last night(May 11) entered Number 10 Downing Street as the country's new prime minister after his party sealed a deal with the Liberal Democrats to form a majority alliance.

As Gordon Brown, the Labour leader, left office in an emotional farewell, Mr Cameron prepared to form a government in alliance with the Lib Dems, led by Nick Clegg.

[At 43, Mr Cameron is the youngest British prime minister since Lord Liverpool held the post in 1812.
43岁的卡梅伦是自1812年利物浦勋爵(Lord Liverpool)以来最年轻的英国首相。]

His arrival in Downing Street returns the Conservatives to power for the first time since 1997, when John Major's government was defeated in a historic landslide by Tony Blair's Labour party. However, Mr Cameron's arrival in office will be marked by huge challenges.


He will have to manage the first governing partnership between two parties that Britain has seen in more than 30 years. [He will also face the immense task of reining in Britain's runaway public finances by cutting spending and raising taxes.
他还将面对通过削减支出和加税来控制英国巨大的公共财政的艰巨任务。]

My Idols

Diana Spencer-Princess of Wales

Yulia Tymoshenko-Prime Minister of Ukraine

Elisabeth of Bavaria(Sisi)-Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary

Elaine Lan Chao(赵小兰)-24th United States Secretary of Labor

Lin Huiyin(林徽因)-20th century Chinese architect and writer

Pan Liping (潘莉萍)-mom

Annika Falkengren- President and Group Chief Executive of the Swedish bank Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB)

TO BE CONTINUED