You may recall that the cries of 'where's George?' were answered by Arturo's declaration that Georgy was hiding under the bed to avoid the flack coming his way. His reappearance has demonstrated his preoccupation with 'Mesmer Eyes' Balls, the Shadow Chancellor. Balls spends much of his time on the Front Bench gesticulating at both Georgy Osborne and also at 'Boy David' Cameron.
Now, the libor scandal has brought Georgy Osborne's persistent fixation with Ed Balls to the forefront. In an interview with 'The Spectator': J'accuse: George Osborne on Labour and libor, Georgy Osborne made several comments about the behaviour of the Brown government. 'The Guardian' previewed the interview on Wednesday in an article by Hélène Mulholland. In this, she quotes from the Spectator
Osborne said in his interview that both the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and the US department of justice were "very clear" that the Bank of England did not issue instructions to Barclays to cut its Libor rate. "As for the role of the Labour government and the people around Gordon Brown, well, I think there are questions to be asked of them."
Singling out Balls, once a city minister but who served as children's secretary under Brown's premiership, he went on: "My opposite number, who was the City minister for part of this period and Gordon Brown's right-hand man for all of it … he has questions to answer as well. That's Ed Balls, by the way." Speaking of Brown's government, Osborne said: "They were clearly involved and we just haven't heard the full facts, I don't think, of who knew what when."
Rather dodgey, Georgy, old boy! 'they were clearly involved', what a thing to say! Where's the proof?
Mulholland continued
Balls hit back at what he said were false allegations being levelled against him.http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/jul/04/george-osborne-labour-libor-scandal
He told BBC News: "What I can say to you categorically – because there's been some false allegations made about this overnight for political reasons as always – at no point did I have any conversation with Mr Tucker at all at any time when I was Treasury minister, a Treasury adviser, or subsequently to that when I was a cabinet minister.
"And I had no conversation with anybody about the Libor market during any of those periods and at no point in any of the time when I was a minister or an adviser were concerns raised about the Libor market to me from the FSA, the Bank, or the Treasury."
Georgy Osborne, however, has so little brain between his ears that he is still harping on about Balls and Brown instead of acting like a Chancellor and dealing with both the failing economy and the libor scandal. It's so much easier to make yah-boo comments than to do a proper job!
In fact, the idea has been growing that it's time for Georgy to be found a simpler job more in line with his 'little grey cells'. Matthew Norman wrote in 'The Independent' :How often does Vince Cable have to be right before they make him Chancellor? He wrote
Vince is having another fine week for his soothsaying reputation, but he must nonetheless be sick of playing Cassandra. This business of him issuing the SOS, first being ignored, then being vindicated, and lastly receiving next to no credit for being right in the first place would irk a less curmudgeonly chap than our (Victor) Meldrovian Business Secretary.
He warned about unsustainable cheap credit and the consequent risk of a crash, and no one paid a blind bit of notice. He pinpointed the structural weakness at Northern Rock and called for its nationalisation, but until it was almost too late a Labour government faffed about in virtual paralysis. For inadvertently declaring war against a Murdoch media stranglehold, he was ridiculed and fined a chunk of his portfolio. By then, he had already spoken about casino banking in general, and Bob Diamond's appointment as Barclay's CEO in particular, in terms that were rather less in vogue in polite political society than than they are today.
Don't recall either Chancellor Georgy Osborne or PM Cameron taking these insightful comments very seriously! In addition, when their determination to right the wrongs of the feckless banking industry was put to the test - they were found wanting. The Vickers Report made several rather weak recommendations about the issue - however - they were too strong for Georgy Osborne's stomach! As Matthew Norman wrote
In another speech, he (Cable)said: "We are worried about this combination of the casinos and the traditional banking. Mr Diamond illustrates in a particularly graphic way what happens when you have an extremely highly paid head of an investment bank taking over one of these major international banks."http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/matthew-norman/matthew-norman-how-often-does-vince-cable-have-to-be-right-before-they-make-him-chancellor-7906760.html
His boss didn't listen, but why would he? With his vast experience of the real world and his staggering intellect, George Osborne needs no advice. What with knowing it all, his instinct was to dissipate the banking reforms proposed by John Vickers, and apparently still is. Just a few days ago, Norman Lamont, among others, urged him to quarantine investment banking from high street operations as Vickers suggests.
Whether or not another cute little U-turn is imminent, one pressing question today is why Obsborne is Cable's boss at all. Transparently, Vince should be Chancellor, and George... well, something less important.
So there we have it! Georgy should do something less important! More fitting one hopes to his age. experience and intelligence! Oh, by the way! Since Osborne and Cameron are cut from the same piece of cloth - maybe 'Boy David' should take the hint too!
Now Arturo and I are going to find a couple of balls to play with! Anyone for tennis?
'Bye'
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