All Politics is Local

6 July 2005



The G-8 Leaders Have Different Agendas

The Live-8 crowd, musicians and music "journalists," kept telling the entire planet that these eight guys in this one room had so much power that they could change the world forever. And they do. But as the leaders of the seven biggest economies in the world (plus affirmative-action addition Russia, which is there because it has about 12,000 nuclear weapons) sit in that room, they all have a different purpose.

For British Prime Minister Blair and American President Bush, the meeting is an opportunity to get people talking about something other than Iraq. Mr. Blair’s place in history hinges on this summit actually achieving something. Otherwise, he’s Prime Minister Iraq forever. Winning the Olympics for London earlier today just doesn't make up for an unpopular war of aggression based on intelligence fixed around policy. As for Mr. Bush, the Africa issue is his chance to prove he isn’t a warmongering evil-doer himself. These guys are in it for their legacy.

The next bunch are German Chancellor Schroeder, French President Chirac and Prime Minister Koizumi of Japan. These three want to be taken seriously as world leaders, but unfortunately for them, they are in charge of second-tier powers. Herr Schroeder has just engineered losing a vote of confidence, and his party is 20% behind in the polls. He wants the gloss of statesmanship, and if Mr. Bush would hit him in the nose, he could gain 10% of the vote from the German electorate who dislike Mr. Bush intensely. Mr. Chirac is still trying to figure out why France isn’t the most powerful country in the world, and he can make ridiculous demands to make himself look good. Opposition can be the fun place in politics because one has neither the power nor the responsibility to be reasonable. As for Mr. Koizumi, he wants a Security Council seat, and here’s his chance to press for it without a Chinese diplomat in the room -- if only there weren't one on the Security Council wielding a veto, he might get his way.

Then, there comes the bottom three, those who really just want a decent game of golf at Gleneagles. Prime Minister Berlusconi of Italy is a rather corrupt fellow who went so far as to change the constitution to avoid a tax trial – he just wants the cameras to go away. President Putin of Russia is a political genius who just happens to have been a secret policeman and is something of a dictator instinctually. Maybe no one will notice he’s trying to return Russia to Soviet ways, sort of a profitable version of communism. And Canada’s Paul Martin wants . . . . Well, the Canadian media haven’t figured it out either.


© Copyright 2005 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.
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