Here in Canada, Liberals can barely contain their excitement that, in Mark Carney, they’ve found a grown-up to lead their party back to the Promised Land and government. His critics in Britain aren’t so sure.
In a scathing column, Camilla Tominey, associate editor at the London Daily Telegraph, heaped derision on Carney and his record as governor of the Bank of England.
“Spare a thought for beleaguered Canadians who have had to endure a decade of Justin Trudeau, only to discover Mark Carney is now running to replace him,” Tominey says by way of introduction.
She goes on to report how, having suffered through Trudeau presiding over the destruction of our immigration system, our economy and our international standing, we’re now “facing the prospect of someone even more smug and incompetent (if that’s possible) taking his place.
“… Carney tried to carve out a reputation as the only grown-up in the room. Listen to his supporters and you’d be forgiven for thinking he was banking’s answer to the Messiah.”
Sound familiar? Isn’t that exactly what those supporting him for prime minister would have you believe? Instead of being the steady hand at the wheel, Tominey is dismissive of Carney’s lack of political neutrality and the way he relied on a policy of purchasing government bonds and other financial assets to stimulate the economy.
“… In reality Carney helped to screw the British economy by bungling our monetary policy, maintaining ultra-low interest rates and huge amounts of quantitative easing.
“Since then, he has been a spokesman for central banks to focus on climate change, even though their core role is price stability,” she said.
“At one point on Carney’s watch, we had the highest inflation in the G7. He was also completely lacking in any neutrality when it came to Brexit. Instead of encouraging us to embrace Britain’s newfound freedoms, Carney was one of the chief architects of Project Fear, which denigrated the status of the City of London and badly damaged consumer confidence.”
A brave warning and some big words, especially for those 14-year-old Liberal Party members who are poised to choose our new prime minister. Carney may look like a grown-up from where you’re sitting but his track record speaks otherwise.